Peter Dowdall falls in love all over again with the architectural Allium family

Allium schoenoprasum are also known as chives, onions and garlic, says Peter Dowdall.

There are over 850 species of allium and most of us will certainly have some Allium schoenoprasum, A cepa or A sativum in our kitchen or garden even if we don’t know it — because these are also known as chives, onions and garlic.

My late father professed to being allergic to onions and would insist on not having them in the ‘same county’ never mind on his plate.