Name:  Borago officinalis aka Borage

Type of Plant: An annual herb native to the Mediterranean.

Why I Love This Plant: While this plant is grown on a commercial level for the oil in the seeds, I grow it because the bees love it, and the blue flowers are beautiful in salads and beverages. The flowers have a cucumber-like flavor.

Borage can self-seed in the garden, so if you grow it from seeds remember how young plants look so you’ll recognize them when they appear in the future.

A Word to the Wise: This is a heavy plant with thick stems. It benefits from support in a container or in the garden, so grow it by a decorative obelisk or support it with some thin bamboo stakes.

It’s fun to watch the bees come to borage, which is a good nectar source.

Borage grows tall and the stems and leaves are heavy, so providing support makes sense so that the plant doesn’t end up on the ground. Grow borage against a fence around the veggie garden, because the fencing supports and the plant and it attracts bees.

This salad is garnished with borage flowers, plus bachelor button and dandelion petals.

Grow borage near something with yellow foliage, since blue and yellow are always attractive in the garden.