Borago officinalis.
An annual plant of a somewhat timeless charm, native to the Mediterranean basin, cultivated in Europe since antiquity — Pliny the Elder mentions it in his Natural History with a phrase that became proverbial: ego borago, gaudia semper ago, "I, borage, always bring joys." The Romans believed it infused courage and added it to the soldiers' wine before battle; medieval monastic gardens cultivated it against melancholy; and the whole European tradition of the Middle Ages regarded it as a herb against timidity and sadness. Whatever the truth of these old virtues, its effect on the morale of the garden is indisputable — few plants attract as many bees, bumblebees and butterflies.
Upright plant 60 to 90 cm, with thick grey-green leaves bristled with stiff hairs that give them a very particular silvery downy look, and crowned all summer with a multitude of five-pointed star-shaped flowers, a bright pure blue — one of the rare truly blue-flowered plants of the garden, joining cornflowers and certain gentians in that exclusive club. Everything is edible: young tender leaves shredded into a salad or added to a soup (an astonishingly close cucumber flavour, fresh and thirst-quenching), whole flowers used as garnish on desserts, in salads, frozen into ice cubes for summer cocktails — it's the traditional flower floating in a glass of English Pimm's — or laid on a goat cheese like little blue stars. Traditional Italian cooking uses it in fillings for Ligurian pansoti, and Frankfurt's grüne Sauce in German includes it alongside parsley, chervil and cress.
Grower's tip: Fast, easy germination (5 to 10 days), few demands, direct-sow in place after the last frost (borage doesn't like being moved and develops a long taproot that snaps on transplanting). Once established, it self-seeds generously year after year — a single sowing often gives a lasting presence in the garden for decades, scattering its seeds at the whim of the wind and nature. Excellent companion for tomatoes and strawberries (it's traditionally credited with the ability to keep certain pests at bay and to stimulate the growth of neighbouring plants — the scientific evidence is thin, but the pollinator effect is very real). To stretch the flower production, regularly cut spent flower stalks.
- Open-pollinated. Annual. Insect-pollinated, especially by bees and bumblebees. Very little risk of crossing with other garden plants.
- Height: 60 to 90 cm.
- Flowering: June to September.
- Exposure: full sun to part shade.
- Ordinary, well-drained soil. Very drought-tolerant. Space plants 30 to 40 cm apart.
- Direct-sow as soon as the soil can be worked (May in Québec). Self-seeds generously year after year, sometimes too much — can become invasive if not controlled.
