use the flowers in an herbal vinegar mix. they do spread like wildfire.
be careful

http://community.webtv.net/GregDraiss/GregDraissMy

In my experience, garlic chives will spread profusely by seed, but you can cut
the flower heads off before they go to seed to help that.

susan

Bunny McElwee wrote:

Thank you both for your information. I've only grown them in one pot,
but it does appear that it has stayed in its own little "mound". I'd like to
plant them around a tree in my front yard, both for the beautiful flowers,
and for the chives. Is there anything I should know about cutting them back
or anything, say in winter? As I said in my previous message, I had one in a
pot and it stayed out all winter, and even got two days of snow (Charleston,
SC - Little to no snow) and while it had a little bit of the foliage die
back around the outer edges, the middle sprang tons of new growth and then
tons of flowers, and is still sending out flowers today. How long will the
plant flower and should I cut it back in the winter?

I have a deer problem and will be putting chives and
related plants in containers randomly throughout
the fruit orchard in order to keep the deer away
(supposedly they don't like the smell). I usually
always have chives in the herb garden and then tend
to stay put and grow every year in the same spot with
little spread.

Gayle

Bunny McElwee wrote:

I had a pot of chives from last year that I let go over the winter
months and actually thought I had killed it. Its in a pot now, and even
after being covered in snow, it came back and now has tons of purple
flowers
on it. I've heard of people using them in their landscapes, but is this
a
good idea? Do they spread or stay in one clump? Do they go to seed
prolifically and create many more plants around them? What are your
experiences with using them in the landscape? They are such beautiful
flowers, it seems a shame to not utilize the flowers as well as gain
from
the chive production.

================================================== =====
Gayle Surrette STC at NOAA/NESDIS/IPD
(301) 457 5254 MAIL Address:
FB#4 Room 3045
4700 Silver Hill Road, Stop 9909
Washington, DC 20233-9909
================================================== ======

the deer probably won't eat the chives, but I won't guarantee that the deer will
be repelled by them. They'll eat what is next to them

susan

Pat Meadows wrote:

On Mon, 31 Mar 2003 10:41:34 -0500, Gayle Surrette
wrote:

Bunny,

I have a deer problem and will be putting chives and
related plants in containers randomly throughout
the fruit orchard in order to keep the deer away
(supposedly they don't like the smell).

I bet the deer will eat the chives as well as the fruit!

When I lived in northern NJ, I had four dogs - two of them
very large male German Shepherds, one a shepherd-mix, and
one a little mutt.

The backyard had a chain-link fenced area for the dogs.

The deer there would come within SIX FEET of that chain link
fence - while the dogs were all there, barking and growling
hysterically, and leaping about - to eat the apples that had
fallen off old apple trees in our yard.

I don't think chives will keep deer away if four hysterical
dogs couldn't do it.

Pat
--
CLICK DAILY TO FEED THE HUNGRY
United States: http://www.stopthehunger.com/
International: http://www.thehungersite.com/

Thanks everyone for your input into my Chives questions. I have a few
more. Now that I DO have flowers on my chives, and in the future want to
have them in the landscape, how do I go about keeping them from setting seed
and spreading all over the lawn? And, can I cut the flowers off and keep
them until they dry out and extract the seeds for more plants? I'm assuming
the seed is in the centers of each little purple flower on the flower
"head"? Also, is it best to cut chives back in the winter or do I just let
them die off by themselves and regenerate by themselves?


"Bunny McElwee" wrote in message
...
I had a pot of chives from last year that I let go over the winter
months and actually thought I had killed it. Its in a pot now, and even
after being covered in snow, it came back and now has tons of purple
flowers
on it. I've heard of people using them in their landscapes, but is this a
good idea? Do they spread or stay in one clump? Do they go to seed
prolifically and create many more plants around them? What are your
experiences with using them in the landscape? They are such beautiful
flowers, it seems a shame to not utilize the flowers as well as gain from
the chive production.

--
Bunny McElwee

'91 Mariner Blue - BlueFlash (we call her Blue for short G)
License Plate - IXCLR8
Jackson Racing Cold Air Induction, chrome interior accents, Racing Beat
Chrome Double Hoop Style Bar,
FM Sway Bars, Heim End Links, Koni Adjustable Shocks (lowest perch),
JR Sport Exhaust, JR Cat, Moss Headers, JVC MP3 Player, Bazooka Powered
Subwoofer with internal 4 Channel Amp, silly grin (driver and car!) and
too
much more to list.

In article ,
Gayle Surrette wrote:
I do a lot of companion planting and there's a book
called (I think) _Roses love garlic_. I'm not sure
if the chive and garlic are in the same family. I'm
a newish gardener (meaning I've been fiddling around
for quite a while but never really actually took it
seriously until recently.

Yes. Both Allium. Some people swear by companion planting; others
laugh at it. No matter. Chives make an excellent plant for the
herbaceous border, provided that it is relatively cool and damp.
There are lots of decorative plants in that family, most of which
are called garlics for no very good reason, and which vary from
being like chives to thriving on a short, damp spring and a hot, dry
summer.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.