The Chives of Summer
by Kacey
Look! My chives have a flower. Okay, don’t laugh, but I didn’t know that chives bloomed. Are they supoposed too? Do you leave the bloom? Pluck it?
Remember when the poor little guy was buried under the snow??
Now it’s so pretty with its little bloom! I really should learn more about growing herbs since I love to cook with them. For now I’ll just enjoy this pretty lavender bloom right out my kitchen door. Do you guys grow herbs? What kinds? Do you grow any in containers, ’cause that’s what I’ll have to do. Our backyard is all shade, but I do get sun on the deck.
Photo of the Month Reminder:
Tomorrow May 31 by midnight is the last day to submit a photo for May’s Photo of the Month. May’s Photo of the Month theme is motherhood. Take it and run with it. Anything that it means to you, reminds you of it. A self portrait. A pic of your mom. A photo of your kids. Your best friend’s baby. Something your kids made or gave you. Get creative and take up an obscure angle of it. You soaking in the tub at the end of a long hard day. A huge pile of laundry. Use your creativity and your imagination.
Please send your links to me using the contact button in the menu bar of the website. Thanks and good luck!
I wouldn’t bet it’s true, but I’ve heard you should eat chives before they bloom. I just bought some herbs yesterday at the nursery - two kinds of parsley, rosemary, basil and mint. Love fresh herbs in the summer.
I think when they bloom that means they are past their sell-by date…but don’t quote me on that!
Let it bloom & go to seed. You’ll have lots more chives next year. You can still use the rest of the plant for cooking throughout the season. The oils are strongest before bloom, of course, but chives remain yummy until frost hits them.
Yes, chives will bloom if you let them. You must not be cutting enough, LOL. They’re pretty, though!
I grow mine more for the blooms than for cooking. Also, you gotta love a plant that comes back after being buried in so much snow.
Kacey, do you have any advice about laptops? I need a new computer — my old one just died! I’m using my daughter’s mac for this, but I’m not sure if I feel really comfortable with it…
xoxo,
Mary
So… are chives and wild onions the same thing?
Yes, Chives bloom, and reproduce themselves abundantly! Put your chives in a big pot on your deck. And we often use the chive blossoms in our big summer salads. A salad with the blossoms is not only pretty, but the blossoms have an oniony flavor too. Our granddaughters love to pluck chives up by the handfuls, them eat them right out of the garden. Then we all have potent “onion” breath together. Kathy B.
Um, can’t help out with anything to do with herbs. Horses? Yes. Herbs? No.
Enjoy your blooms! I have rosemary, thyme, chives and oregano all in one large cement mixer container from Lowe’s. The only thing that didn’t make it from last year was my lavender. Everything else is last year’s herbs. And the rosemary is SOOOO good on chicken!
I love the flower close-up. Beautiful shots. I am not having such success with my herbs this year…
I love your chive pictures! We grow basil, rosemary and oregano in the big garden out back. But not chives. Sounds like you got a lot of good advice above, anyway!
You silly girl. Those beautiful pruple flowers will dry and become the seeds. All the rest are perfectly good to eat, but don’t eat the woody stems of that flowers grow on.
FYI: Chives freeze perfectly if you chop and store in a tightly closed container. I have oodles growing, front and back, and save enough to use all winter. We eat them in tuna and chicken salad, on salads, on potatoes, and in any dish I can throw them into. I have so many I can’t give enough away, but won’t thin back. I love those purple flowers.