Borage

1. 1

   Sow direct, not in modules

   Borage has a long taproot and resents transplanting. Sow seed direct where you want the plants to grow, in April–June. Germination in 7–14 days. If you must start indoors, use deep root-trainer cells and plant out before the roots reach the bottom.

2. 2

   Pick a permanent home — you can't move borage

   A sunny spot with ordinary soil. Borage tolerates poor soils, light shade, and dry conditions; it doesn't tolerate waterlogging. Spacing 45 cm — it grows to 60–90 cm tall and just as wide, and can flop sideways in rich soil or wind.

3. 3

   Accept that it will self-seed for years

   A single borage plant produces hundreds of viable seeds and the next year's seedlings appear everywhere. Two strategies. (1) Welcome it — just weed out unwanted seedlings in spring and let the plant become a permanent semi-wild presence. (2) Cut flower heads off before seed sets (late September) — this drastically reduces but doesn't eliminate self-seeding.

4. 4

   Stake taller plants in exposed sites

   On rich soil or in windy gardens, borage can flop sideways and look untidy. A pea-stake or grow-through plant support placed early lets the plant grow up through it and stay upright. In a wild corner, let it flop — it's part of the look.

5. 5

   Pick young leaves sparingly

   Cucumber-flavoured but with bristly hairs that make the leaves rough on the tongue. Pick young leaves (the older ones get really hairy) and use sparingly: a few finely chopped in a summer salad, or whole in Pimm's. Avoid large quantities — see Step 8.

6. 6

   Use the flowers

   The main reason most UK gardeners grow borage. The sky-blue star flowers are edible and ornamental — float on Pimm's, freeze whole inside ice cubes for cocktails and elderflower cordial, scatter on salads, candy with egg white and caster sugar for cake decoration. Pick whole flowers in the morning when fully open.

7. 7

   Let bees do the work

   Borage is one of the top three UK garden plants for honey-bee and bumblebee forage. The flowers refill with nectar every two minutes, so a borage patch is in constant motion through summer. Even one plant tucked at the back of a veg garden upgrades pollination across nearby crops (tomatoes, beans, courgettes especially).

8. 8

   Eat in moderation

   Borage contains low levels of pyrrolizidine alkaloids — compounds that, in large quantities, can affect the liver. Small culinary use (a few young leaves, a handful of flowers) is traditional and fine for healthy adults. Avoid or use minimally: pregnant women, anyone with liver conditions, children. Don't take borage as a daily medicinal tea — that's the higher-dose use where the alkaloid issue applies.

Few pest issues; attracts beneficial insects which helps nearby plants.