"Borage and kin"

The herb borage has some easily grown relatives.
Sunday, 29 August 2021     

Borago officinalis

Some years ago, I received a borage plant from a delightful country garden I visited on the south coast of NSW. I had long wanted to grow this herbal plant again, as it is a reminder of the garden of my childhood, where it popped up all over the place and beguiled me with its stunningly blue, star-shaped flowers. I also seem to recall that borage flowers were used in a punch made with Pimm's No. 1 Cup at garden parties in my long-ago youth. Sometimes the flowers were frozen in ice cubes to be added to the bowl - a pretty touch.

In the years that have followed, the borage (Borago officinalis, ht 60-90 cm) has indeed self-seeded in my garden very readily, but so do other plants that I would never want to be without - especially those with blue flowers, for which I have a weakness, some of which belong to the same family (Boraginaceae) as borage: including forget-me-nots (Myosotis sylvatica, ht 30 cm) and Chinese forget-me-nots (Cynoglossum amabile, ht 50 cm). These are both starting to flower in my garden now, happily filling empty gaps. I pull out large numbers of seedlings of these rogues every year, but always leave enough to give me my annual fix of celestial blue each spring. Members of the Boraginaceae plant family generally have foliage that is hairy or velvety (which may be an irritant to some people), and the clusters of flowers are simple and upward-facing or in the form of nodding bells. The blooms are usually very attractive to bees. Some of them have traditional uses in herbal medicine, though I can't vouch for any of these. Borage and forget-me-nots are best treated as annuals, but I have found that the Chinese forget-me-not can last for several years in the garden.

One of the most spectacular members of the family Boraginaceae - which is just coming into bloom now in Sydney - is the pride of Madeira: Echium candicans. This shrubby perennial, which does indeed hail from Madeira, has tall spires (up to 80 cm in length) smothered in tiny, star-shaped blue-purple flowers that seem to have an iridescent tinge. I have seen it looking fabulous growing alongside the lime-green heads of Euphorbia characias subspecies wulfenii. Pride of Madeira grows best in a dry, sunny position, and in Sydney, it (like many plants from similar provenances) can become woody and unproductive after a few years and require replacement.

Note that in some dry inland areas, pride of Madeira is regarded as much of a noxious weed as its cousin, Paterson's curse (Echium plantaginuem, pictured at left, ht 60 cm), a small, self-seeding annual (which can be toxic to livestock) with the same shimmering colouration in its flowers. ln autumn this year, when I last visited the family farm garden in the Southern Tablelands NSW, where this plant grows wild in the paddocks and often inveigles itself into the garden around the house, I dug up a couple of seedlings of it, some for a friend and some for myself. I won't let it take over in my garden but gazing at it now, I feel quite sentimental about the sheets of shining purple in the paddocks that I will probably not see this spring. I'm just hoping my little seedling blooms!

More garden-friendly is the deliciously scented heliotrope (Heliotropium arborescens, ht 75 cm) - its tiny clustered blooms are very similar to those of forget-me-nots upon close inspection. This is a useful shrubby perennial for Sydney gardens, and flowers for much of the year if deadheaded regularly. I do find that it too gets a bit woody after a while, and it is best replaced with a new plant every few years. There are several cultivars, including a pretty golden-leaved one. Unlike most of its relatives, it shows no tendency to self-seed! Note that this plant is toxic to dogs.

Comfrey (Symphytum species, ht 60 cm or more) is another member of the family Boraginaceae, and it can be a useful groundcover in dry shade where not much else will grow. It will grow much bigger in a moist position and take up a lot of space - I certainly wouldn't recommend giving it a prime position in the garden. It is a clump-forming plant, the leaves of which can be added to the compost heap to accelerate decomposition. The most common form has rather unspectacular white, bell-shaped flowers, but there is a lovely compact version with blue flowers ('Hidcote Blue', ht 45 cm). Several years ago, I acquired a cultivar ('Belsay Gold', ht 50 cm) that has amazing lime-gold foliage in spring and early summer. It is not such a robust grower s the species. There are also yellow-variegated forms, such as 'Goldsmith', though I did not find it long lived in my garden when I tried it, and I think it demands moister soil than most of the others.

The flowers of the purple honeywort (Cerinthe major 'Purpurascens', ht 45 cm) have the same nodding bell shape as comfrey - and this self-seeding annual from the family Boraginaceae was a popular plant amongst enthusiastic Sydney gardeners in the 1990s. It has stunning blue bracts and purple-blue flowers, with almost a metallic quality. The leaves are grey-blue (and sometimes spotted with white), with a succulent texture. I grew it for a few years and loved it, but it seems to me it grows much better in climates with less humidity than Sydney has.

Some of the woodland members of the family Boraginaceae can grow well in the more elevated suburbs in Sydney with rich, deep soil - for example, Brunnera macrophylla (ht 45 cm), with its heart-shaped leaves (beautifully variegated in the cultivar 'Jack Frost') and sprays of dainty forget-me-not flowers, and lungworts (Pulmonaria species, ht 15-25 cm), which have gorgeous silver-spotted or streaked leaves and nodding bell-shaped flowers of purple, pink or blue. I find them a bit marginal in my garden - but I have seen them growing magnificently in a garden not 2 km away! Anchusa, Mertensia and Omphalodes species are other lovely Boraginaceae plants that I tried and failed with in my Sydney garden in my younger days - sadly, they are better suited to colder climates than ours.

This blog was first posted on 26 August 2012; updated 29 August 2021.


 Reader Comments

1/14  Joanne - 6081 (Zone:) Monday, 27 August 2012

I"m growing Borage for the first time. mainly for the flower to dress up cakes but also as it looks stunning in the garden. Not sure how it will go in perth but I have 5 plants that I will put in different areas and see what it likes best regards Joanne Thanks, Joanne. Hope it will grow well for you there. Deirdre


2/14  Anne - 2518 (Zone:10 - Warm Temperate) Monday, 27 August 2012

I finally have borage growing well in my "new" garden. Love heliotrope too. I have that rather weedy euphorbia and its flowers look spectacular with the borage blue - yes I remember the flower in punch too. thanks for another memory provoking blog. Thanks, Anne. Yes the "weedy" Euphorbia has a gorgeous-coloured flower and I do have it in my garden, though I pull out many seedlings every year! Deirdre


3/14  Pam - 3216 (Zone:10 - Mediteranean) Monday, 27 August 2012

It is a lovely time of the year isn"t it? So much anticipation is tempered by tiny promises like the forget-me-nots showing their blue faces. I have a large bed under a golden elm which has continually denied me satisfaction. My current experiment is euphorbia wulfenii mass planted with cannas. Hope your new planting will work out for you. Deirdre


4/14  Peta - 2758 (Zone:9 - Cool Temperate) Monday, 27 August 2012

It must be something in the air! I was reading one of my favourite English garden mags - they keep me poor, and there was an article about borage. Must grow it again I thought. Turned on the computer and you have opened your blog with borage. Must get some borage and a lottery ticket. Thanks, Peta. Glad to hear that borage has been given some more attention! Deirdre


5/14  Trish - 4169 (Zone:11A - Sub-tropical) Monday, 27 August 2012

The only place I managed to grow borage was Perth. It was never happy in Brisbane. PS: remember that Paterson"s Curse was known as Salvation Jane by the beekeepers of South Australia for it"s reliable source of honey production during droughts. It may have been too humid in Brisbane for it? Plants with those sort of hairy leaves often don"t cope well with a lot of humidity. Thanks for the reminder about the name Salvation Jane. I have to confess that when I see a mass of that plant flowering in a paddock in spring, I do think it looks rather wonderful! Deirdre


6/14  Kate - 3055 (Zone:10 - Mediteranean) Monday, 27 August 2012

I was given seeds of a white flowering Borage late last year - the little plants have come up, much to my happy surprise, and I can"t wait to see if they are truly white!! Has anyone else seen the white form?? I have loads of the blue and I think they should look great together... I have definitely seen the white form and it is nice. Hope that they flower well for you. Deirdre


7/14  Sue - 2073 (Zone:10 - Warm Temperate) Monday, 27 August 2012

My front garden is a sea of blue with violets and forgetmenots at the moment. I think we had the rain at the right time earlier in the year. I haven"t tried borage but I will try and get plant, it will go perfectly in my cottage garden. I love heliotrope and have several shades of mauve. Sue Thanks, Sue. It sounds very pretty in your front garden. Heliotrope is one of my favourites, too. Deirdre


8/14  Carole - 2230 (Zone:10 - Warm Temperate) Monday, 27 August 2012

My girls grew up with borage and I love. I had it growing all over my large garden and the girls were encouraged to eat the flowers like sweeties. Unfortunately, after long suffering, I discovered that I was allergic to borage and had to remove all borage plants from my garden. Thanks for that reminder that some people can be allergic to this plant and others in the Boraginaceae family. Deirdre


9/14  Valerie - 4160 (Zone:11A - Sub-tropical) Thursday, 20 September 2012

Yes I have Borage plant, it self seeds so every year I eagerly await for it to bloom. I was told that in Medieval Days women embroidered Borage flowers on their handkerchiefs and Wimples,its wonderful to know the beautiful herb is still flourishing in so many gardens.


10/14  Mim - 4173 (Zone:11A - Sub-tropical) Monday, 26 August 2019

Borage a Mediterranean native was always in my mother"s (also a Mediterranean) garden though in her vegetable patch. She cooked the furry leaves like spinach and like nettles the pickles disappear when cooked. Her favourite and mine was to cook the larger leaves in a thin batter tempura style. Very delicious I could not get enough of it. That is interesting, Mim. I have never heard of that before! Deirdre


11/14  Gaynor - 5044 (Zone:10 - Mediteranean) Tuesday, 27 August 2019

A few weeks back I noticed a plant had come up in the garden and I couldn"t think what it was. I knew that it was something that I coveted, despite its hairy leaves. Finally it came into flower and I realized it was borage. What a poor memory! I also have Cerinthe major self-seeding along with Nigella. Have you ever done a post on self-seeders Deidre? I would be interested. That is good you have those self-seeders. I have written several blogs on the subject: here and here. Deirdre


12/14  Bren - 2540 (Zone:10 - Warm Temperate) Monday, 30 August 2021

I had Comfrey established in my garden when I first moved in, and I so liked the plant that I moved it from the old vegetable patch to the ornamental beds. My various poultry: pheasants, quail, guinea fowl and peacocks absolutely love this plant. Apparently it is not so suitable for humans to eat though. Yes it certainly has its uses! Deirdre


13/14  Catherine - 2130 (Zone:10 - Warm Temperate) Monday, 30 August 2021

Thanks Deirdre. Following on from Mim's comment, borage leaves also make a tasty soup (as indeed do lettuce leaves). Standard potato and onion base, stock.... I have never thought of using it like that. My mother was a great fan of lettuce soup, though! Deirdre


14/14  Georgina - 2076 (Zone:10 - Warm Temperate) Monday, 30 August 2021

Hi Deirdre. Just love all blue flowers. Have planted seeds of borage and Nemophlia 'Baby Blue Eyes'. All the forget-me nots are just starting to flower. I've had no luck with the blue Browallia. It has never self- seeds like it should! Georgina Nemophila is gorgeous. I grew it many years ago. it is weird how some plants self-seed madly in one garden but not another! Deirdre


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