Last year, I sowed borage seeds in the front garden to fill a space – a large space. The borage, with self-seeded phacelia, then took over and smothered quite a few other plants. Thankfully, they survived and have grown more robust in the interim (see the primrose in the background).
I’m so pleased to have some borage flowers for a salad tonight. However, I wish the plants could be a little more on the diminutive side. As it is, I am afraid they will have to get chopped down when they get bigger, as I would like to appreciate some of the perennials as well.
All the same, it is great to see more flowers at a time when the bees may still be finding it hard to get all they need!
Borage has its uses but it is a bit of a thug. I keep meaning to eat some of the stalks but can’t be bothered to peel them.
Not tried the stalks… peeling would be an issue! Your comment has got me thinking, though 😉
It’s grown as a vegetable in Europe – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borage
Yes, and I understand it is nutritious, too 😊. Still, am up to my elbows with nettles as we speak, so that is probably enough of the prickles for one day 😉.
Ah, nettle soup, nettle pesto, nettle quiche… 🙂
Now, nettle pesto sounds a plan! I can’t make quiche as our oven doesn’t work but I could use the leaves in omelette. Still, I’ve got chard coming out of my ears (although some is soon going to be donated to a friend’s guinea pig), so maybe I’ll save the nettles for where I don’t like chard (e.g. soup).
They’re good for a change, and you can pretend you meant to grow them as a crop. 🙂
Well, I have been growing nettles as a crop, though being wild it does what it wants.
🙂
I just think of it as useful biomass for the compost. When they take over too much and threaten other plants, I take them out and compost them. Others seed themselves where they can’t do much damage, and just flower happily. It is a very ‘generous’ plant 🙂
Indeed, a very generous plant 😉.