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.
![](https://gardenlady.com/wp-content/uploads/borage-and-bees.jpg)
It’s fun to watch the bees come to borage, which is a good nectar source.
![](https://gardenlady.com/wp-content/uploads/borage-support.png)
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.
![](https://gardenlady.com/wp-content/uploads/garden-salad-borage-dandelion.jpg)
This salad is garnished with borage flowers, plus bachelor button and dandelion petals.
![](https://gardenlady.com/wp-content/uploads/borage-flowers.jpg)
Grow borage near something with yellow foliage, since blue and yellow are always attractive in the garden.
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