Borage - Borago officinalis

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Borage - Borago officinalis
© Dr Chris Gibson/English Nature

Borage flowers are an intense, startling blue colour and nod attractively in the breeze. Pairs of oval, hairy, crinkled leaves are topped by drooping sprays of star-shaped flowers. The whole plant has a bristly appearance. Flowers can be added to salads and to summer drinks, especially Pimms, which the slightly cucumbery taste of borage matches perfectly! Borage is extremely attractive to bees.

A pleasant thing to do with long summer drinks is to place a single borage flower in each ice-cube compartment, top up with water and freeze. The resulting blue-flowered cubes look attractive in tall glasses, and add that little something extra to a gin and tonic! Sip, sit back, and enjoy the sounds and sights of wildlife in your garden.

The name has an interesting derivation and has reached us via Latin and old French but apparently ultimately from the Arabic abu'arak - 'the father of sweat'. The plant was used medicinally to drive out fever.

Animals

Buff-tailed bumble bee, Common carder bumble bee, Red mason bee, Red-tailed bumble bee, White-tailed bumble bee

Foliage	Green
Flower	Blue, May to September
Moisture	(Dry)
Sunlight	(Full sun)
Origin	Non-native