Hot days, shady spot in the garden, jug of refreshment on the table. The flowers of Borage, Borago officinalis are deemed an essential addition to long fruity beverages. The star shaped flowers are composed of bright blue petals. These add colour to the drink or salad whilst the complete flower has a sweet taste. Well, that is what the books say; personally I get a not unpleasant straw like taste.

This annual herb is a fast growing hairy leaved specimen. A multitude of flower buds held pendulously ensure a long flowering season and a plentiful supply of fodder for bees. Widely cultivated, often through self-sown seedlings, Borage can become a weed of cultivated areas if not managed. The multitude of bees these plants attract enables successful pollination and the subsequent proliferation of seed ensuring the future of the following generation.

Borago officinalis

Borage flowers