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HERBS DESCRIPTION: BORAGE
Posted under Herbal by adminBorago officinalis BORAGINACEAE
The “Herb of Gladness”, borage was a favourite of the ancient writers and scholars. The leaves, and sometimes the flowers, too, were steeped in wine and drunk as a general tonic, and an uplift for mind and spirit. It is believed to be the Nepenthe of Homer, used to dispel sorrow when mixed with wine, and it has perhaps a similar use today in Pimm’s No. 1 Cup, which it flavours.
Pliny christened it “Euphrosium”, and wrote that it made men merry and glad. It also gained the reputation of giving courage as well as joy, and became a flower symbol for courage. The brilliant blue starry blooms were embroidered on scarves by the womenfolk and these were presented to warriors before battle. In the age of chivalry in England, a cup of borage tea was often drunk by competitors before tournaments and jousts.
Borage is an easy annual to grow, and can be sown right through the year in warm frost-free areas; but if you live in a district that gets frosts it is best to sow in spring, with another planting in early summer. When scorched by frosts, the plant degenerates to black, brittle untidiness, and this may have been its state when Gerard described it as having “leaves of a black or swarte green colour”.
The biggish, bomb-shaped seeds should be sown covered by 1\4 inch of soil in the garden or s inch in seed boxes. They sprout readily, with almost 100 per cent germination, and should be through the soil in 3 to 8 days. The seeds will also self-sow very readily, so if you start with one plant, although it is an annual, you will soon have many small seedlings about your garden. Put borage in full sunshine, keep it well-watered in the early stages, but do not feed it too heavily or you will get huge clumps with many leaves but no flowers. Underfeeding, if anything, is better. The hairy greyish-green leaves can sting with their sharp little needles when you pick them, so handle with gloves and care. Washing under cold water for several minutes before use makes them more tractable. Borage leaves are not recommended for drying at all for the home gardener.
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