From Guest Blogger Liza Bennett Gyllenhaal, who also took these photos of her garden:

In the Berkshire Hills of western Massachusetts where my husband and I have a weekend cottage, spring arrives about the same time that some other parts of the country are starting to slip into summer. It’s usually not until late April that one of the first signs of life declares itself in our small, fenced-in vegetable garden: shiny shoots -- fine as cat whiskers -- sprouting up through the dried snow-flattened mound of last year’s chive patch. Within weeks, though, the chives have thickened, lengthened, and spread. Like telemarketers, they're invasive and indefatigable. They jump across the raised beds to wriggle in among the newly planted peas or slide under the bricks in the narrow garden pathways.

The chives reek of new life. Less is more with chives, but a chiffonade of these freshly snipped herbs on a bed of salad greens adds a burst of energy and flavor that excites the palate and lifts the spirit.

By June this smallest member of the onion family will be in flower — just as their grown-up relations, the ornamental Globemaster Alliums, will be nodding their three-inch purple scepters above the bearded irises and hosta in the border garden that runs along the western side of our cottage. Chives are not only decorative — ours form a well-proportioned bouquet of tightly packed lavender flower-heads about the size of jaw-breakers — but their smell also helps ward off pests and insects in the garden.

Almost all the things I like to cook with chives are simple, fast, and tasty. Perhaps my favorite, adapted from the Union Square Cookbook, is skinless, boneless chicken breasts, stuffed with chevre cheese, chives, and any other herbs you might have on hand. Slit a pocket lengthwise in the breast, (I actually do this with my fingers), and spoon in chevre, softened with some olive oil and mixed with a handful of chives and other herbs.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper and then saute until nicely browned in olive oil or butter. I usually put the stuffed breasts in the oven for 10 minutes or so at 375 degrees F. to make sure they’re cooked through and to let the chevre/chive mixture infuse the breasts and melt a bit into the pan. Spoon the melted chevre/chive sauce over the breasts when you serve. The chicken is great with fresh asparagus and couscous.

I’m always looking for great new salmon recipes, and I came across one in the June issue of Bon Appetit that is wonderful -- made more so by the addition of chives. You simply coat the salmon fillets with crème fraiche (I’ve also used the Fage brand of Greek yogurt), sprinkle with salt, pepper, and fresh herbs (but I went with all chives) and roast it in a 425-degree F. oven for 12 to 15 minutes.

One last simple suggestion: fresh cherry tomatoes, halved, marinated in a light vinaigrette, sprinkled with snipped chives. Serve this on a bed of arugula alongside corn fritters and it’s one of the most delicious lunches you’ll have this summer. I adapted this from an August 2003 Gourmet magazine recipe, but substituted chives for scallions and didn’t saute the tomatoes -- because what could be better than raw cherry tomatoes right off the vine? But I’ll leave that question for another day.