BALLOON BOUQUET ornamental chive is a member of the onion family and has the flavored leaves that are typical of these plants. This plant's name refers to the pink globe-shaped flower heads that look like pink balloons when it flowers.

Round, purple-pink clusters of hundreds of small flowers bloom in midsummer on this hardy onion relative with a compact growth habit and broad strap, shaped, blue-green leaves. BALLOON BOUQUET grows to about a foot in height and about 8-10 inches wide. Unlike edible onions, the root system is a rhizome, not a bulb, and adapted to the clay soil found in many Chicago-area gardens. An advantage of rhizomatous onions is that the foliage is retained throughout flowering.