Most herbs are handy to have in the garden. When you're cooking a new Jamie Oliver recipe and you need a sprig of rosemary or a few basil leaves, it's nice to know you don't have to pay top dollar for a few stems from your supermarket.

But what makes chives handier than most, is you don't need to re-plant it each year like annual herbs, and you can simply chop off what you need, when you need it, with a pair of scissors.

The only real trick to growing chives is making sure you remember where you planted it during winter! This grass lookalike will go dormant and die down during the colder months of the year but pop up again come spring.

We've just moved into a new house and I haven't had time to build a good vege garden yet, but I have planted chives.

I simply found a corner of a garden bed near to the kitchen, and planted a couple of standard and garlic chives seedlings there. This means come winter when I'm re-planting my brassicas (cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage etc), I don't have to worry about digging up my dormant chives by accident. I just steer clear of the corners of the plot.

Which reminds me, next time the kids tell me they're 'bor-ed' I'll get them busy painting some stone markers so there's no mistaking where the chives live.

Once you've picked up a couple of Awapuni Nurseries chives seedlings from your local supermarket, The Warehouse, Bunnings or from our online store, just dig a little hole and plant. As the come up they will grow together in a clump.

Don't have a garden? No problem. Chives grow just fine in pots too. Just get some good quality potting mix and plant.

Once the chives have reached about the same height as a drinking straw, I start chopping the ends off with scissors to add to my scrambled eggs and other food 'sensations'.