In the Garden with Pat Rubin

Bee garden writer Pat Rubin writes about everything that grows, from flowers and trees to vegetables and lawns. Pat volunteered for several years as a Placer County Master Gardener and has written about gardening for many national and regional publications. In addition to gardening, she spends time raising and showing miniature horses and miniature donkeys.

In the Garden will include news, events, advice and other gardening tidbits. Pat will also answer reader questions.

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April 8, 2008

Those bloomin' chives

My chives are blooming.

I’m not sure whether it’s good for production or bad since none of the vegetable gardening books I checked addressed this situation, but the lilac-purple flowers are certainly attractive. They give the vegetable garden a cheerful look. I like to think of the flowers as a bit of decoration.

Blooming and going to seed is Mother Nature’s way of ensuring more chives live to grow and bloom another day. But you can also divide chives to spread them around the garden or to share them with friends and neighbors.

I’ve been cutting the flower stems away at ground level and putting them in a vase, but I’ll likely let a few go to seed so I can plant chives in other parts of the garden.

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