Let’s make no mistake…Borage can be a pest in some gardens…so you have to keep an eye on it. I find that it is tremendously useful in making eco-chic country style arrangements and the bees go slightly delirious in their pursuit of its delights.
Borage is mentioned in the old herbals as long ago as 1265…and Homer called Borage ‘nepenthe’ and in those mighty fine Greeky times it was steeped in wine to relieve sadness.
Many folk view Borage as being uncouth…but if you bypass its shonky and hairy stems….it has the most wonderful simple flowers….little blue stars….get to know Borage and you will come to love it. You can eat the young leaves…cook them as you would spinach.
…in fact Borage has always been popular in the herb and kitchen gardens of our continental cousins and is indeed commonly found in their markets.
Sow seeds about half an inch deep where you want them to grow. (You can sow in pots but I don’t bother…they do so well from direct sowings)
I space my plants about a foot apart.
I strongly advise you cut the plants down before they go to seed or you will soon have hundreds of little Borage seedlings…you may of course want exactly that….they can be eaten as tiny greens….which are very trendy down here in the flash Cornish restaurants.
Kind regards
Benjamin Higgledy