Price range: £2.25 through £18.50
Beautiful blue bee plant with edible flowers. Easy to grow.
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Borage
Borago officinalis
Approx. 50-60 seeds per gram
The striking simplicity of the star shaped blue flower of borage is one of my favourite sights of early Summer and I think the bees agree. The black stamen form a point at the centre of the flower, hold this when you want to harvest the flowers and gently prize the flower from the calyx. The leaf is a dark green, oval and slightly hairy. Flowers form in clusters usually blue, they can sometimes be pink and there is a rarer white one. Borage is an annual which may self seed and grows to a height of around 80cm. It is a companion plant to strawberries and tomatoes.
How to grow:
Sow seed from March until September into well prepared ground in an open sunny position. Scatter the seed and rake in. Harvest the flowers when fully open and the leaves when young and tender.
Pests and diseases:
Easy to grow, Borage does not have any particular pests and diseases.
How to use:
The young leaves can be chopped for salads or added to a pimms, they smell like cucumber but the flowers are the best bit. Remove the flowers as described above and decorate salads or place them into ice-cube trays, cover gently with water and freeze. They look amazing in summer drinks. You can also crystallise them and use them to decorate cakes. Pick the flowers as described above on a dry day. Lightly beat an egg white until just foamy then dip the flower into the egg white and then into caster sugar. Put them carefully on a tray covered with greaseproof paper and dry either in a very cool oven with the door ajar for a few hours until dry or in a dry warm place for 24 – 48 hours. Store in an airtight container until used.