Brochku's Blog: Chives

This is why I think chives are awesome:

first edible plant to come up in the spring, so welcome after the bleak winter
don't mind a cold, wet spring (which is highly probable)
honeybees like them. I like to help honeybees out as much as I can.
are an Allium and I love Alliums
bring back fond memories for me. I remember Tato asking me to go snip some "schneetleek" to sprinkle on our homemade chicken soup and it was one of my favourite "grown-up" tasks and I was so proud. "Schnittlauch" is the German word for chives, but until today I thought it was a Czech word. Apparently "pažitka" is the "new" (to me and probably to my Tato but I can't ask him) word for chives in Czech. I'm wondering if perhaps this is due to czechification that happened after WWII.
great topping for baked potatoes. Only freshly-snipped will do, dried chives taste like cardboard and don't even think about freezing them.
plants spread well, which may or may not be a good thing
divide easily. I was given this plant (rather its mother to be more accurate) by my neighbour to welcome us when we moved in, so it holds happy memories for me.
do not get out of control unless you want them to (as evident in the border picture)
thrive in any soil
don't need pampering, i.e. I never water or fertilize
will grow well in a pot. My Mom enjoyed fussing over hers on her small balcony, even though it didn't need much fussing.
are easy to prune, just shear them off after blooming and they will send up fresh new leaves. I try to do this before the rain beats them down, or before they go to seed because otherwise there will and explosion of millions of seeds everywhere.
flowers are edible too, tear them apart and they will be less oniony-tasting or at least you will get less on your tongue all at once
flowers make a nice garnish on any plate
make a great subject for Photoshop