Chives, Purple, Allium schoenoprasum

Grows into a useful, edible, neat clump with its wonderful, not too-strong, subtle onion-flavoured leaves, ready to be cut and thrown on a potato salad. Round heads of edible mauve flowers appear all summer. Trim to about 3cm a few times a year. Best in a sunny position. The flowers attract bumblebees, honeybees, mason bees and leafcutter bees. Hardy perennial. Priced for: 1 litre pot

Use: Chop the leaves and add to salads and potato salad in place of spring onion, stir through soft white cheeses or add to omelettes. The edible flowers make a pretty garnish to salad dishes.