Borage
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Borage Seeds
Invite the buzz into your garden with Borage! This incredibly easy-to-grow hardy annual is one of the absolute best plants for attracting bees and other pollinators—in fact, it's often called "bee bread" because bees are so magnetically drawn to it! It produces masses of cheerful, star-shaped bright blue flowers (hence the alternative name "starflower") that famously taste faintly of cucumber. The flowers and young leaves are completely edible and make stunning additions to summer drinks, salads, ice cubes (freeze the flowers for a pretty touch!), desserts, and cocktails.
Borage (Borago officinalis) is a useful annual herb with rough, hairy leaves and those gorgeous vivid blue star-shaped blooms that are genuinely one of the few naturally true-blue flowers available! Native to the Mediterranean, borage has been beloved since ancient Greek and Roman times (Roman soldiers reportedly drank wine infused with borage for courage before battle!). It's ridiculously easy to grow—so easy it often self-seeds and returns year after year without any effort on your part! This is a Hardy Annual, meaning you can direct-sow it in spring for summer flowers, and it will happily tolerate cooler temperatures. Borage is not just beautiful and useful—it's also a fantastic companion plant for vegetable gardens, particularly beneficial near tomatoes, strawberries, courgettes, and beans where it attracts pollinators to improve fruit set whilst simultaneously repelling pests. Awarded RHS Plants for Pollinators recognition, borage is a must-have for wildlife-friendly gardens, edible landscapes, and anyone who wants to support declining bee populations whilst growing something genuinely useful and beautiful!
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🌿 Understanding the Plant
Borago officinalis is a vigorous Hardy Annual (H4). While it completes its entire biological cycle in a single season, its prolific self-seeding nature often leads to it behaving like a permanent perennial fixture in the cottage garden. It is perfectly adapted to the British climate, surviving light frosts and flourishing in open, sunny positions.
The "Cucumber" Biology: Borage contains a high concentration of the organic compound nonadienal (cucumber aldehyde), which provides the distinctive fresh cucumber flavour to both the leaves and the flowers. This chemical trait makes it a favorite in contemporary mixology and gourmet herbal cookery.
The Ultimate Bee Magnet: Ranked as one of the highest nectar producers in the British Isles, Borage is a certified RHS Plant for Pollinator powerhouse. The flowers refill their nectar reservoirs extremely rapidly (every 2-5 minutes), providing a reliable and continuous "all-you-can-eat" buffet for honeybees and bumblebees from June through to October.
🌱 Growing Guide
Borage develops a deep, resilient taproot and highly resents being moved; for this reason, direct sowing is the most reliable method for success.
How to Sow:
Direct sow outdoors from April to June, or in September for early summer blooms the following year. Scatter the large, easy-to-handle seeds into shallow drills 1.5cm deep. Germination is rapid and reliable, typically occurring within 7-14 days. If starting in modules, transplant while the seedlings are very young to minimize root disturbance.
Where to Plant:
They demand full sun and thrive in almost any well-drained soil. Borage is a specialist of poor, stony ground; in overly rich soil, the plant will produce excessive, prickly green leaf growth at the expense of its iconic blue starflowers. Space plants 30-40cm apart to allow for its bushy, somewhat sprawling architectural spread.
Ongoing Care:
Borage is virtually maintenance-free once established. Its taproot makes it remarkably drought-tolerant, requiring no additional watering even in peak summer heat. If you wish to prevent widespread self-seeding, remove the flower heads before they turn to brown seed; however, most gardeners allow them to naturalise to ensure a fresh generation of "free" plants every spring.
📋 Plant Specifications
| Botanical Name | Borago officinalis |
| Common Name | Borage / Starflower / Bee Bread |
| Plant Type | Hardy Annual |
| Hardiness | H4 (Hardy through UK summer and light frosts) |
| Light Requirements | Full Sun ☀️ |
| Height | 60cm - 90cm |
| Spread | 40cm |
| Spacing | Plant 35cm apart |
| Flowering Period | June to October |
| Perfect For | 🐝 Elite Bee & Pollinator Support 🍹 Gourmet Cocktail Garnishes 🥬 Organic Vegetable Guarding 🧒 Children's Discovery Gardens |
| Seeds per Packet | Approximately 100 seeds |
🤝 Beautiful Garden Combinations
The vivid sky-blue stars of Borage provide a cool, professional foil for vibrant available partners from our range:
- 🧡 Calendula 'Touch of Red': The Potager Classic. A high-contrast, professional-looking combination. The burnished orange of the Calendula vibrates against the blue Borage stars. Both are edible, attract beneficial hoverflies and bees, and together serve as natural "bodyguards" for tomatoes and beans.
- 🔥 Nasturtium 'Tom Thumb': The Edible Dream Team. For a vibrant, low-maintenance display, pair bushy Borage with compact Nasturtiums. Both produce large, easy-to-handle seeds perfect for children, and both provide a long-season harvest of edible leaves and flowers for the kitchen table.
📅 Sowing & Flowering Calendar
Direct sow in spring for a summer harvest of edible stars, or in autumn for a stronger, earlier display the following spring.
| Month | J | F | M | A | M | J | J | J | A | S | O | N | D |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Direct Sow | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |||||||||
| Flowering | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
✨ Edible Blue Ice-Cube Tip
The star-shaped blue flowers are 100% edible and possess a fresh cucumber flavour. Freeze the flowers into ice cubes for a stunning, professional-looking addition to summer drinks like Pimm's or gin and tonics.
🏆 Robust Garden Stamina
Known for its stamina and ability to thrive in poor, dry soils, Borago officinalis is an essential choice for those wanting to create a romantic, low-maintenance garden that provides non-stop edible flowers while supporting the entire local bee population.
📖 Want more detailed growing advice?
View our Complete Growing Guide for Annuals →
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