Borage

Borage grows so easily in both the vegetable and ornamental garden that, once established, it self-sows and appears again and again. Star-shaped blossoms in shades of blue, cucumber-flavored leaves and stems, and fast-growing seed—all make borage welcome in gardens.

Borage Beckons

• Brilliant, jewel-toned blue blossoms are a welcome sight in the early spring vegetable garden. Re-seeding ensures its presence for many weeks.
• Blooming blue borage positively buzzes with bees, though not all gardeners seek out this annual herb as happily as do the bees.
• Bees begin to seek out borage early in the year as they do with rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis). These are two of the few flowering plants that provide nectar and pollen before most other plants are in bloom.
• Bee activity occurs most often on a warm and sunny day. Borage is a critical food source that supports the native bee population.

In the Garden

• Cultural requirements are minimal. Borage thrives best in full sun but tolerates some shade with little water in rich or poor soil, ideally compost-enriched and covered with mulch.
• Borage’s deepest blues show up as its flowers age. When first opening, star-shaped blossoms are pale pink, slowly turn blue, then deepen to purple—a color progression thought to follow pollination. The result decorates plants with multiple hues at any one time.
• Fully branched plants produce multiple, hollow stems that reach 2-3 ft. in height and width and endow borage with welcome ornamental value.
• Flowers appear in groups dangling at tips of branchlets.
• Plants will re-bloom if flower clusters are removed prior to seed formation.
• Occasional irrigation during dry spells keep plants thriving longer.
• Because borage re-seeds freely, it’s common to find it popping up in and around both moist and dry cultivated areas of the garden and filling bare spots.
• Instead of carefully planting borage seeds, some gardeners prefer to take an entire stem with spent, gone-to-seed flowers and scatter seed widely or lay stems down wherever they would like borage to grow. Unwanted seedlings are easily pulled out.

Cautions

• Despite its attractive flowers, some gardeners shy away from including borage in the garden because of the stiff, prickly hairs that cover leaves, stems, and flower buds.
• Sap is another nuisance, known to cause skin irritation in some people, but nuisance hairs and dermatitis can be avoided by wearing gloves when you handle plants.
• Youngest leaves tend to have fewest hairs and are favored for harvest. Both flowers and leaves are edible, adding color and cucumber-like taste to salads and garnish on dinner and dessert plates or on appetizer cheese trays.

April 2022