We continue to talk about the plants growing in the beds of the Red Garden bosquet.

The hero of our conversation is the chives, also known as skoroda onions, sibulet onions, scalloped onions, and tribullas. Carl Linnaeus named it Allium schoenoprasum L. Why such popular names? Chives, because the young leaves are eaten and cut. After the leaves of the onion are cut off, they grow back. Onion skoroda, from the word “skoroda” – wild garlic, for the similarity of the bulbs of this onion with cloves of garlic. That’s why chives are also called scalloped onions.

In Russia, chives have been used for a very long time, because they grow in nature. It began to be cultivated as a garden crop in the 17th century, and initially it was a vegetable of the poor. In the times of Peter the Great, when the fashion for various salads came from Europe, chives became a regular fixture in the kitchens of nobles and nobles. Foreign chefs introduced chives into the menus of noble people; in Europe, these onions have been grown in gardens since the 16th century. Chives are usually used for salads. It can also be salted and pickled.

In early June, chives bloom with beautiful lilac spherical inflorescences, which is why they are used in ornamental gardening. After flowering ends, the peduncles and leaves are cut off. Once new foliage grows, chives create a beautiful green border.