Chives

Mama B

For some reason, I love chives. I love how they look, how they smell, I even love the pretty purple flowers when they go to seed - and, yes, I love how they taste.

I have planted them in my gardens over the years, but they never amounted to much, probably because I am a messy gardener, and don't follow the rules when it comes to planting my garden. I am of the mind set "the more the merrier", especially in my gardens, and there were lots of things that I planted that got lost in the tangled growth of other plants. My chives seemed to be one of those lost souls.

Last year, I was determined to have a bit of an herb garden. I grew everything in containers and that included my herbs. I used an old terracotta strawberry planter, you know, the ones with the holes in the sides for plants. I stuck a small chive plant in the top of the planter, which, of course, is the largest hole. I didn't get enough to harvest for what I wanted, although there was enough to use throughout the summer for the occasional baked potato. In the fall, I cut them back and I had enough fresh chives for a small potato salad. As I was getting the herb garden ready for the winter, I remember thinking that one chive plant was obviously not enough for my hope of having grown enough to get me from one growing season to the next. Then, winter hit with a vengence this year and we got way more snow than we have had in a very long time. I could see my herb garden through the window and I watched what was left of them, curl up and die. 

In my garden planning for this coming growing season, I added a couple more chive plants to my list. A couple of weeks ago, as I was watering my houseplants in the window, something in the herb garden caught my eye. There was a teeny, tiny green shoot poking through the mud. It was so exciting!! A little splash of colour in a black and white landscape. I watched as other green shoots poked through. And then, it snowed again and covered the green in a dollop of white. It made me sad. Then, it rained and rained...and rained. I forgot to look for the green. 

One day, on a trip to the composter in the far corner of the yard, a splash of vibrant green caught my eye and I stopped to stare in wonder at the lushness of my one chive plant. It filled me with delight and a sense of peace flowed through me.
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I made my first harvest of the tender green stalks day before yesterday. There was enough to fill a medium size freezer bag. It was so exciting! I am anxious to see how many harvests there will be from my one little chive plant that I had basically given up on!