After the rain

In the incessant rain
Petals are parted from roses
Whole flowerheads drop from rhododendrons
And grasses droop disconsolately.

But after the rain
The chives remain cheerily upright
To repel insects and attract bees
And flavour and decorate our salads.

What a miserable day, leaden skies, rain and being stuck in the office. A pause allowed a quick tour of the garden to check on the veg and flower beds, groan at all the newly-sprung weeds and smile at the chives balancing raindrops, against the lush greenery.

Chives - Allium schoenoprasum - is the smallest species of the edible onion genus and is the only allium native to both the New and the Old Worlds. Its name derives from the Greek skhoínos (sedge) and práson (leek), while its English name comes from the French word cive, from cepa, the Latin word for onion. The stalks are called scapes. The sulphur compounds in chives repel insects but bees like them.