Every spring, I know it’s time to clean up the kitchen garden when I see the grassy bright green tufts of the chives poking through the soil. Chives are the first to come up in the garden, and definitely the very last to die back with the first hard frost in the late fall. No matter what, these plants come back every year hardier than the year before!

Chives have a strong onion flavor – their green stems (chopped) are perfect for salads and baked potatoes. The soft purple spiky flowers are edible too, and make beautiful garnishes.

After the blooms fade, I cut the chives back to about 3-inches to keep them healthy and thriving. Throughout the summer as they start to overgrow, I’ll cut them back again. They’ve tried to overtake parts of the garden, so I transplant them (or gift them) as needed.

Give them a try!

Happy gardening!

Love, Nora

3 Comments

  1. Nan, Odessa, DE on May 22, 2016 at 9:06 am

    Thanks for sharing.
    How do you us the chives? Details, please.
    This is my first year of chives in an established kitchen garden.
    Looking forward to your next post!

  2. Denise on May 22, 2016 at 10:34 am

    My chives are blooming, too. And my roses. Everything is really early this year in Victoria, B.C. because we’ve had so much hot weather recently. The down side of the hot weather is that the forest fires have started already.

    • Nora on May 25, 2016 at 9:38 am

      Hi Denise! You are so lucky that your roses are in bloom too!! I’m so jealous!!! Maybe the burst of hot weather we’re finally getting this week will accelerate my blooms!

      Enjoy! Thanks very much! Love, Nora

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