For about six weeks each spring, local chefs and diners enjoy the fleeting, tiny wonder of chive blossoms. This year, we’ve seen them gracing a crab cake at Black’s Bar & Kitchen in Bethesda, sprinkled atop a chilled asparagus bisque at Proof in Penn Quarter, gilding a plate of rabbit sausage at downtown DC’s Butterfield 9, and topping the insalata forte at Dino in Cleveland Park.

“They’ve just got this really wonderful, oniony flavor and a sweetness—because it is a flower, and they’ve got to attract the bees,” says Dean Gold, owner of Dino. “They’re very attractive-looking on the salad and much milder than if you used onion or chive.”

The pale lavender blossoms will fade in the next couple of weeks—and then we’ll have to wait patiently till they return next spring.

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Photograph by Flickr user Mom the Barbarian.