There are a lot of plants blooming in my garden right now and the bees are loving it. 
Snapdragon
Pineapple guava flowers
Elderberry blooms
Flowering sage
Flowering chives
Salvia
Tag Archives: garlic chives
Two for the Price of One: Splitting Garlic Chives
Awhile back I saved some seed from my garlic chives and noted that I probably should divide the plants. Well yesterday I got some extra time in the garden and decided it was the perfect time to dig up the chives. Actually I don’t know if it was the right time to divide chives but in my garden whenever I have time to do something it is the right time. Chives grow in clumps and can get crowded so dividing them is a good idea for healthier plants.
This is what the front herb bed looked like before I started. There are three main chive plants in the bed.
I used my pitch fork to gently dig up all sides of the chive plant. 
Then I used my shovel to split the chive plant in two. I cleaned up some of the dead parts of the plants as well. 
I put one division of the chive plant back into the original herb bed. Look, there is a landscaping rock that you can actual see now!
I put the new division in my second herb bed along the fence. I think they will be happy in their new home.
Saving Seed: Garlic Chives
I planted these garlic chives last year and they have been doing great in my herb bed. They are getting a bit crowded so I may have to split them at some point. I’ve never reproduced garlic chives by the division of clump method but it is suppose to help the plant live longer and more vigorously. Plus you get two plants for one! 
As you can see, some of the flower heads have dried out and the seeds are threatening to burst out. I picked a few of the flower heads that were dry to save the seed. I noticed on the flower heads where the stem had completely dried there were not as many seeds compared with flowers that were mostly dry but the stems were still green. I wasn’t sure if I had to wait for the stems to be completely dry but it seems that a lot of seeds popped out already. Maybe I need to tie a bag around the flowers since my timing wasn’t perfect. After I pinched off the flowers, I put them into a bowl. Some of the seed easily popped out and some I had to rub the flowers between my fingers to release the seeds. 
East Sac Edible 