Borage is a wonderful annual plant/herb that grows really quickly and has beautiful blue flowers which attract pollinators in their masses. It is also a popular host for lacewings which are an important predator in the garden. Along with comfrey, nettles, bracken, clover and yarrow it is a dynamic accumulator of nutrients and minerals from the soil. Hence why it is a good addition to any liquid organic fertiliser. Borage is also useful as a companion plant in the kitchen garden and is edible with a mild cucumber flavour.
If you want to grow Borage in the garden (it is also a valuable break crop in arable crop rotations) year after year then you have to let it go to seed as it is an annual. Herein lies the problem. If left to go to seed then you will get plants popping up in all sorts of places around the garden, often where you don't want them. Better make sure the hoe has been sharpened ! Other drawbacks of this plant are its floppy nature and the fact it is very good at out competing other plants (often ones that you want to keep and don't appreciate it).
I for one see it is a friend for it's massive ability to attract insects, the flowers are beautiful and i can mix it in with comfrey, nettles etc for a more balanced liquid feed (it contains useful amounts of magnesium - one for the rose lovers). I don't mind a bit of extra weeding as the result is worth it.
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As Glenn says, it depends on the customer, I have some who say to leave it, others see it as a problem weed. If it's down to me I leave it there.
Friend! All of the free self seeders are my friends (except Comfrey), I just how off what I don't want. I'm introducing Borago officinlis & others such as Scabious, Digitalis, Calendula, Papaver, Escholozia (sp?)to several of my gardens this year, they all sit well amongst a mixed herbaceous bed. A big tick for Borago from me :-) Cheers Helen
It's an invasive weed. Horrible stuff. Plenty of more attractive plants that don't give the poor, hard-working maintenance contractor such trouble.
Next thing, you'll be wanting to plant bindweed and ground elder for the wonderful white flowers! :-)
it depends on the garden - a large garden where the client wants a "garden" and wants a Horticulturalist to maintain it, it is a welcome addition in my eyes, and in those situaitons your going through the borders chasing a dozen papaver, Geranium, Carex etc etc so the hoe is in full time use and borage self seeding makes little difference -
A maintenance-only task, yes its a nussance as your trying to keep a site maintened / garden "tidy" for a client and not "manage" a plant collection - Thats the real difference, and it decides borage's fate - anoying weed or great stuctural border plant.
Thanks for the idea, i can't believe i had not thought of that. From now on i shall leave all the bindweed
Paul McNulty said:
Ground Elder is another attractive plant when it's not in the wrong place.
Stuart @ Eco Garden Maintenance said:
If only bindweed had fruit that tasted of chocolate: it'd be the perfect plant!
Ground elder is an escapd salad crop! - Just eat it!
"The simplest way to prepare ground elder is to fry it in olive oil until the leaves have wilted and the stem is tender and serve as a side dish. Even in more complicated dishes, frying is a good way of bringing out its flavour – as in this recipe."
http://scottishforestgarden.wordpress.com/2013/05/26/growing-and-ea...
David Cox said:
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