Allium schoenoprasum

Allium schoenoprasum: The Border Edging You Can Snip for Dinner

Native, edible and covered in mauve pompoms, chives are the one plant you can garnish with and brag about. The bees get the flowers, you get the omelette. EVERYBODY EATS.

Plant Characteristics:

• Botanical Name: Allium schoenoprasum
• Common Name: Chives
• Height: 30 cm (12 in)
• Spread: 40 cm (16 in)
• Flowers: Rounded heads of small, star-shaped, pale purple to mauve flowers. Edible.
• Bloom Time: Late spring to early summer (May to June)
• Foliage: Thin, hollow, upright green leaves with a mild onion flavour
• Features: Edible leaves and flowers

Where to Plant: Chives make a neat edging for herb gardens, vegetable beds and the front of a sunny border, forming a soft, grassy line that flowers all at once in late spring. They're happy in containers near the kitchen door, and they suit pollinator gardens and edible landscapes.

Companion Plants: Dianthus Pretty Poppers® 'Double Bubble' picks up the pink tones at 15 to 20 cm and blooms from June into early fall. Coreopsis verticillata 'Zagreb' adds fine leaves and yellow flowers through the summer. Stachys 'Hummelo' brings purple spikes at 45 to 60 cm just behind. All three grow in full sun or partial sun.

Plant Care: Plant in full sun to part sun in average, well-drained soil. Water regularly while plants settle in. Once established they handle dry spells well, though leaves stay more tender with steady moisture. Harvest leaves by cutting them a few centimetres above the soil. Shear the whole clump after flowering to get a fresh flush of leaves, and deadhead before seed sets if you don't want seedlings popping up. Divide clumps every few years in spring to keep them vigorous.

History: Chives grow wild across much of the Northern Hemisphere, including most Canadian provinces, and are the only Allium native to both the Old and New Worlds. People have grown them in European gardens for centuries, both for the kitchen and for their flowers.

Final Thoughts: Plant it by the kitchen door so you'll actually use it. Snip, sprinkle and repeat, and don't worry, deer won't steal your seasoning. BRUNCH IS SERVED.