Borage

The bright blue, star-shaped flowers make borage one of the prettiest herb plants, and it is easy to grow and easy to harvest, although it does not dry well.

Cultivation

Borage is not a fussy plant, but the richer the soil, the bushier the plant will be. It prefers full sun, and needs protection from wind as it is easily blown over. Seeds can be sown throughout the season, and once growth is established, it will continue to seed itself. Place plants close together so they can support each other. Borage is an excellent companion plant for tomatoes, courgettes and strawberries and it actually improves the flavour of tomatoes growing nearby!

Parts used

Dried flowering plant as a whole medicinally, fresh plant for cooking

Uses

The flowers and young leaves may be used to garnish salads, dips, and cucumber soups and chopped leaves can be added to soups and stews during the last few minutes of cooking. The leaves can be cooked with cabbage leaves (two parts cabbage, one part borage) which is especially good if your family don’t like cabbage smells! Candied borage flowers make attractive cake decorations.

Because it is a tonic plant for the adrenal glands, borage is said to provide support for a stressful lifestyle, it is rich in minerals, especially potassium and a tea made with borage helps to reduce fevers and ease chest colds. As a tea, two tablespoons of dried plant in a litre of water, boiled and allowed to stand, is considered to be a safe treatment for rheumatism.

Borage photograph by lovingshiva from flickr under a creative commons attribution licence.

 

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