Borage--A New Face in My Herb Garden
growsherown
Posted: May-15-2004 at 7:54pm
Borage! Anyone have this wonderfully cucumber scented/tasting herb? Im so excited to see it bloom and to try it in salads!
Trish
Posted: May-16-2004 at 3:28pm
Every spring, I think it's gone forever -- then it pops up somewhere else. What a prolific re-seeder! Mine are growing, but not yet blooming.
Borage makes an excellent companion plant for tomatoes because it draws the pollinators so well. I love the blue blooms.
Lisa A
Posted: May-16-2004 at 9:42pm
One of the prettiest combinations I have seen was borage planted with an orange sunflower-type flower (their name slips my mind at present). It was so cheery. I took a pic. When I find it, I'll post it.
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Screaming Eagle
Posted: May-17-2004 at 9:48am
I don't have it yet but I've seen it in the pea patch near where I work. Very interesting looking plant. Usually I steer clear of annuals but if it's willing to re-seed I may find a place for it!
Theresa
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growsherown Pos
ted: May-19-2004 at 7:39am
I just cant get over the cucumber fragrance...love this herb and I cant wait to find uses for it.
A friend of mine suggested that I use the star-shaped blue flowers by freezing them in ice cubes and using them for those special beverages....like fresh spearmint suntea! YUM!
DanH
Posted: May-21-2004 at 7:57pm
We have borage EVERYWHERE this year! Grew it two years ago for the first time and now it's all over the place.
The flowers attract bees like nobody's business, so I'm putting about four or five of the borage plants into medium sized pots to move around my garden wherever I want to attract bees.
You can freeze the blue flowers into icecubes for summertime gin and tonics (or other drinks for that matter) as a classy and attractive touch.
Bill N
Posted: Jun-06-2004 at 1:18am
Ditto on the bees. My wife puts the flowers in salads.
Bill
growsherown
Posted: Jun-06-2004 at 12:10pm
Soooooooooo awesome! great idea, guyz!
growsherown
Posted: Jun-23-2004 at 7:09am
**UPDATE**
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Wow! This plant is really pretty! The star shaped blue flowers are very eye catching in the garden and attract alot of bees too! Love this herb!
bakingbarb
Posted: Jul-05-2004 at 8:52pm
That is my fav herb to grow just for the smell and the flowers. You can candy the flowers, too cool. And yes it self sows realllllllllllll welllllllllll.
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BakingBarb
cjmiller
Posted: Jul-08-2004 at 2:12pm
Like cucumber flavored herbs without the over productive reseeding? Try Salad Burnet. It is a very attractive 12 to 15 inch plant that grows in a rosette clump with small round serrated leaves with a cucumber-like taste. I also looks great in ice cubes or just sprigs in a gin and tonic drink, or flavoring dips, creme fraiche, or sprinkled on cantelope or honeydew.
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Carol
growsherown
Posted: Jul-13-2004 at 8:36am
Cool! Holy moly....this thing has really taken off! Ive been trying to keep up w/ the blooms, but JEEZ! What a prolific bloomer! I just love this plant!
Trish
Posted: Jul-15-2004 at 9:14am
I've had to pull out some of my borage -- it got so big that it was shading out the tomatoes!
CJ, you haven't had salad burnet reseeding? I think it's 10 times as prolific as the borage. Starts out tiny and very cute, surges into floppy seedheads.
Poterium sanguisorba takes less space to grow and has tasty young foliage. Borago officinalis is big and fuzzy and draws bees. Why not grow both?
cjmiller
Posted: Jul-22-2004 at 11:17am
No, Trish, I havent had seedlings of salad burnt, because from my experiance with comfrey,(which multiplies like dandelion and gets huge like borage!) I learned the joy of deadheading before they go crazy. In fact, I was so ruthless last summer about making sure they didnt multiply that when the winter ice storm hit us in early Dec. It killed the whole plant and seedlings--boo hoo, I have no salad burnt this year. but the cucumbers are doing very well! A bundle of salad burnt scarlet heads are pretty cute in a small bouquet. Also the soil I asked the salad burnt to grow in is really marginal, so they didnt get so overwhelelmingly big. Man, it sounds good enough to give it a try in better soil.
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Carol
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