Borago officinalis

Borage

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This annual herb is equally at home in the herb, veggie or cottage-style garden.
The plant forms a basal platform of large, rough, hairy leaves from which many flower stems up to 60cm tall emerge, carrying cymes of starry, five-petalled flowers. The individual flowers are clear, sky-blue with a white and black centre. The flowers are used for garnishing cocktails and salads and often appear in bags of edible flowers. Interestingly, if the flowers are immersed in acidic liquids like lemon juice or vinegar they turn pink. Borage enjoys a sunny position and will endure poor soils and dry growing conditions, which are typical of its native Mediterranean region. It grows easily from seed sown in situ and flowers from spring to autumn. It is cold resistant, but new seeds need to be sown in spring.