Be Honey Bee Happy
Got Borage or Starflowers? If not get some quick! 🐝 Bees love it and so do I.
Borage is one of few plants with naturally occurring true blue flowers. It is considered an herb and the leaves, blossoms, and stems are eaten in many places. My daughter and I have tried brewing it for tea but because of the high gelatinous mucilage in the leaves (think okra slime ewwww) we've decided to dry the leaves first before trying again.
Besides tea I have only researched but yet to try other recipes using borage. I'm excited to try one that calls for blending it with braised greens and cheese for ravioli filling. When this happens I will be sure to post pictures and talk about our results. An interesting fact about Borage is that it's supposed to cure melancholy or make you feel courageous. I can't say that this really works but I know I feel better watching the interesting critters flitting about and flirting amongst one plant to the next. I'm growing it as an annual in the vegetable garden because it attracts many pollinators; most especially a variety of bees (bumble/honey/carpenter) lightly detailed in my previous post. If you plant borage you'll find that it is the most wonderful companion plant! If you are growing summer or winter squash and tomatoes you need to have this plant and its fuzzy buzzy buddies to aid you. I have the plants everywhere so I can say I have yet to experience the dreaded tomato hornworms which are supposed to be repelled by the presence of Borage. I wish it did the same for squash borer but that hasn't been my experience Sorry. 😒 As far as tomatoes go though, who wants those big green gluttonous creepy things around? I sure don't! I think the fuzzy spiny nature of borage keeps soft bodied insects at bay. Definitely for now I'll keep letting it sow itself in my garden as it is a healthy self seeding plant. It really more than pulls its weight in the garden with its flighty hairy counterparts.
Happy Planting,
Tina
Borage is one of few plants with naturally occurring true blue flowers. It is considered an herb and the leaves, blossoms, and stems are eaten in many places. My daughter and I have tried brewing it for tea but because of the high gelatinous mucilage in the leaves (think okra slime ewwww) we've decided to dry the leaves first before trying again.
Besides tea I have only researched but yet to try other recipes using borage. I'm excited to try one that calls for blending it with braised greens and cheese for ravioli filling. When this happens I will be sure to post pictures and talk about our results. An interesting fact about Borage is that it's supposed to cure melancholy or make you feel courageous. I can't say that this really works but I know I feel better watching the interesting critters flitting about and flirting amongst one plant to the next. I'm growing it as an annual in the vegetable garden because it attracts many pollinators; most especially a variety of bees (bumble/honey/carpenter) lightly detailed in my previous post. If you plant borage you'll find that it is the most wonderful companion plant! If you are growing summer or winter squash and tomatoes you need to have this plant and its fuzzy buzzy buddies to aid you. I have the plants everywhere so I can say I have yet to experience the dreaded tomato hornworms which are supposed to be repelled by the presence of Borage. I wish it did the same for squash borer but that hasn't been my experience Sorry. 😒 As far as tomatoes go though, who wants those big green gluttonous creepy things around? I sure don't! I think the fuzzy spiny nature of borage keeps soft bodied insects at bay. Definitely for now I'll keep letting it sow itself in my garden as it is a healthy self seeding plant. It really more than pulls its weight in the garden with its flighty hairy counterparts.Happy Planting,
Tina
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