Borage is an interesting herb. I heard about it through a friend who said you had to grow Borage by tomatoes. They said it inproved the taste of tomatoes if planted one to two foot away from a tomato plant. I also read that Borage was a natural insect repellant and being an organic gardener this appealed to me. So I started reading up on the plant and decided I should try it in the garden.
This seed is considered to be more of an heirloom seed so it was not available in my garden centers. I ordered it through a seed catalog. I also learned through my research that in gardens of yester-year Borage was always one of the plants in the garden. It was usually planted at the edge of the garden to control insects and some small animals.
Borage (Borago officinalis or Echium amoenum)is also known as “starflower” is an annual herb. It originated in Syria and has spread throughout the Mediterranean region, most of Europe, North Africa, and Iran. It grows to a height of 2 to3 feet.Borage is pretty plant with a delicate blue or pink flower.
The stems and leaves have bristly-hairs all over with the leaves being two to six inches long. The plants produces plenty of seeds and will reseed in warmer climates. In cooler climates like my zone 5 it is a hardy annual plant.The leaves taste like fresh cucumber and are used in salads and soups.
The flower has a sweet honey-like taste and is often used to decorate desserts and dishes. The flowers give any dessert a unique flare with such a delicate flower used as decoration. It can be frozen into ice-cubes and the flowers become exotic drink coolers.
The plant has been used for many natural remedy treatments. As with any time you use herbs for treatement you must be very careful, do research and contact people who have used the herbs before.
My experince with borage in the garden was wonderful. It’s a beautiful plant that receives many comments. It did improve the taste of tomatoes and I also noticed a decrease in certain insects. It is now a regular plant in my garden
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