Adored by bees and humans alike, borage produces an abundance of delicate, edible blue or white flowers. No nature-friendly garden is complete without this wonderful annual flower.
Seed Sowing
Sow direct into a prepared seedbed in April or May after the last frost, spacing seeds 30cm apart. You can try sowing multiple seeds per 30cm and thinning once germinated to increase chances of success.
A second sowing can be made in late spring to extend the flowering window and ensure bees and other pollinators have an abundant source of nectar and pollen throughout summer.
Transplanting
Borage does not transplant well and works best if direct sown.
Plant Care
Keep the area weed-free and watered during hot spells. You can mulch around the plants to keep in moisture and prevent weeds. Deadhead to prolong flowering. Plants can grow up to 60cm and may need support, especially in windy growing conditions.
Challenges
Borage is generally pest and disease free but make sure to wear gloves when handling the plant as the leaves and stem have hairs which can irritate sensitive skin.
Blackfly are sometimes attracted to borage’s young growth, making it a fantastic companion plant to broad beans.
Harvest
You can expect flowers about 10-12 weeks after a spring sowing. Harvest individual flowers before they’ve just opened for use in cooking or decoration.
Culinary Ideas And Uses
The flowers are edible and add a refreshing cucumber-like taste to salads or as a decoration on cakes. Try freezing the flowers into ice cubes to jazz up your summer drinks.
Seed Saving
Harvest branches or the whole plant when you can see the first seeds starting to fall on the ground. Lay out to dry and then thresh, flail or rub to remove the seeds and store in a cool dark place.
Borage is a prolific self seeder so you may only need to sow it once to have it forever.
Most popular Flower Seeds
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Calendula – Orange (Organic)
£2.28 – £3.90 Add to basket This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product pageCalendula – Orange (Organic)
Also known as ‘Pot Marigold’. This is the classic calendula, producing abundant large orange blooms over a long season. We love calendula and would never go a season without it. It is really easy to grow and loved by humans and insects alike. There is something magical about finding bumblebees sleeping in calendula flowers early in the morning. The flowers are edible and make a great addition to salads. The petals have good medicinal properties and can be taken as an infusion in hot water or turned into a powerful tincture. Calendula’s medicinal actions include but are not limited to: anti-inflamatory, astringent, vulnery, and anti-microbial.
(Approximate seed count – 125)
£2.28 – £3.90 -
Bee Mixture – (Organic)
£3.50 Add to basketBee Mixture – (Organic)
A colourful mixture of Borage, Buckwheat, Calendula, Crimson Clover, Cornflower, Dill, Coriander and Phacelia.. The bees and other beneficial insects in your garden will love this mixture of flowering plants. The nectar will provide them with sugar they need for energy and the pollen contains protein and oils that bees collect to raise the brood.
We rejoice in this bee mixture particularly as it has a diverse range of flowering plants and makes our vegetable plot look beautiful and filled with colour. The edibles amongst the mix we use to jazz up our summer salads.
(Approximate seed count – 5 grams)£3.50 -
Nasturtium – Trailing (Organic)
£2.58 – £6.95 Add to basket This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product pageNasturtium – Trailing (Organic)
A colourful annual with edible flowers and leaves . Trailing mix of bright greenery and different shades of orange, yellow and red coloured flowers. Both leaves and flowers are edible, they taste peppery, hot and sweet.
We love having nasturtium flowers dotted around our land. They attract the bees and just make a beautiful addition in summer salads.
£2.58 – £6.95 -
Sunflower – Giant Yellow (Organic)
£2.20 – £4.00 Add to basket This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product pageSunflower – Giant Yellow (Organic)
A very large yellow variety of sunflower, producing impressive blooms up to 30cm in diameter. No surprises here! This is a sunflower that does exactly what it says on the tin. Tall and sturdy plants producing huge single yellow flowers. The flowers are much loved by bees and if you leave the plants over the winter they provide a valuable ecological role as winter bird food (the seeds) and a habitat for many insects (the stems). If you have heavy clay soil, incorporating the remains of the plants into the soil in spring will lighten the soil due its high carbon content.
We always grow loads of sunflowers, dotted in amongst our other crops. They are really easy to grow and bring such a shameless joy to the garden. They are pure flower and nothing else!(Approximate seed count – 30)
£2.20 – £4.00
