Borage: Companion Plant and Nutritious Herb

Borage (Borago officinalis) is an untidy, sprawling plant (also called starflower after the shape of its flowers), with a taste reminscent of cucumbers, that grows about three feet tall and is covered with tiny bristles or hairs. Grown as a source of food since prehistory, the plant originated in Syria and eventually spread throughout the world, becoming common in many different world cuisines. Borage is noted for its delicate cucumber flavour and its sweet flowers have long been used to add a refreshing twist to drinks. Oil produced from the seeds is recognized for its health benefits, as well, and borage can be grown as an excellent companion plant for tomatoes and strawberries, and generally improves the health of your entire garden.

Borage is an annual plant that readily reseeds itself. It prefers a sunny situation, and because of its leafy area, needs to be kept well-watered. If you are wondering whether to plant borage, and you grow tomatoes or strawberries, wonder no longer! Planting borage not only improves the flavour of both tomatoes and strawberries, but keeps away many garden pests such as the tomato hornworm.

In many climates, borage produces flowers almost all year long. The flowers are typically blue, but pink and white varieties are also available. The flowers, like those of many herbs, are an attractant to bees (bees love blue flowers), and so if you grow fruits or vegetables that require bee pollination, you may wish to grow borage to attract more bees to your garden. And one of the great attractions of this herb is it has almost no pests or diseases, so once it has established itself, this plant needs little care except watering!

Borage leaves taste a little like cucumber, and can be used in place of cucumber anywhere, especially if you have unpleasant side effects from eating cucumbers. The leaves can also be used raw in salads (use only the young leaves for this), or cooked like spinach and served as a vegetable. The leaves, when cooked, can be made into a savoury or sweet sorbet, or used to flavour endless types of sauces and soups. In some countries, the leaves are added to pickles and relishes, and the flowers and leaves can also be infused in hot water to make a refreshing hot or iced herbal tea. And if you're fond of fritters, borage leaves make delicious fritters, too! Borage is a common ingredient in many Mediterranean cuisines.

Borage flowers have a sweet, honeyed taste, and can be used to flavour desserts, or candied as used as garnish or edible decorations. Borage leaves and flowers were once used to flavour Pimm's cup, and are still used as a garnish for drinks made with this liqueur. The Romans thought that it instilled courage. The officinalis in its species name means that medieval people believed it to have significant benefits on health; certainly the studies on the oil from borage seeds bears out that belief!