Did you know forget-me-nots have a cousin from the Mediterranean area? I’m continually amazed how plants from that part of the world can do so well here in Alaska, but since I learned borage and forget-me-nots are both part of the Boraginaceae family, it’s making a little more sense to me. 

I encountered borage for the first time in my step-sister’s vegetable garden in Anchorage several years ago. This stunning blue star flower was overflowing through all of her garden beds. She told me its name, but I was more interested in the size of her organic vegetables, and I wasn’t sold on growing borage in my own garden. What would I use that much borage for in my kitchen? Fast forward a couple decades and I encountered borage again last fall in a friend’s garden in Palmer. “Taste this flower,” she said. Yum—sweet honey and cucumber flavored—I loved it! I went home and put borage on my list of seeds to order. 

Borage turned out to be one of my most successful seedlings. They transplanted easily and were blooming by the end of May. Besides tasting good and growing well there are a few other excellent reasons to grow borage. This herb is not grown commercially so if you want it, you need to grow it. Borage is a nitrogen fixer for the soil, making it an excellent companion plant for just about anything, as long as you don’t let it take over. It is perhaps ironic that one of the reasons I didn’t try to grow it after I saw it in my step-sister’s garden is the plant was sprawling everywhere. I didn’t realize then how easy it is to control and that it was contributing to the health of her garden crop. Borage also helps nearby plants resist insect problems. 

In my last article I mentioned I was considering using stinging nettles as a companion plant in one of my garden beds. I changed my mind. Borage seems like a much friendlier companion plant and provides similar benefits to the soil and surrounding plants.

A little research taught me borage has many uses in the kitchen. The leaves can be eaten fresh or cooked like any other greens, and the flowers can be eaten fresh, candied or frozen in ice cubes for special drinks. Both can also be dried, but they lose their special flavor. The sweet honey taste of the flowers and the cucumber flavor of the leaves makes this herb fun to share with visitors to your garden.

Many folks call borage the herb of courage and happiness. I must say that everytime I snip a borage flower from the pot next to my front door and eat it, I feel happy. And being happy certainly helps one to be more courageous. The Romans gave borage wine to their soldiers for courage before heading into battles. Why I feel a boost of joy after eating its flower I can’t say for sure, but two probable reasons are that borage tastes good and it’s visually appealing. A third reason is, like its cousin the forget-me-not growing a few feet away, my borage plants are covered with new buds getting ready to bloom, making this gardener feel quite happy.