They take me by surprise every year. As Summer loses it’s energy, it seems that almost everything in the garden has “partied out”. Walking up the path to my front porch I see someone who looks as though he is just getting started. He looks like the early days of Spring. Obviously, he is an Allium, a group of plants that we associate with the cool days of late Winter and early Spring.

What’s this cat doing arriving in late Summer? Why is he wearing white??

This sartorial rule-breaker is Allium tuberosum, the common Garlic Chives. So easy to grow, and so enthusiastically self-sowing that his progeny are routinely dug up or pulled up while doing gardening chores. I am glad that they are so industrious, because this horticultural “designated driver” is always there for me at the end of Summer’s long party. They seed themselves into places where only Divinity could place them, and I am happy that they do!

You may find Garlic Chives at your local nursery or mail-order bulb dealer. I think I got mine from Goodness Grows in Lexington, Georgia. They like sun or part shade. Easy.