The Greenhouse,

is about growing matters, focusing on my greenhouse and potager. I grow mainly vegetables, herbs and spices but flowers have their given place too. From seed to table, this is the nursery for my living food, we cook a lot of delicious food and I say a potager is the cook’s best friend. The greenhouse makes it possible to grow essential, colourful, warmth loving fruit and vegetables even in this climate such as tomatoes and chillies. My main blog is Tyras Trädgård/Tyra's Garden. View my profile

Sunday

Borage - a Medicinal Herb in the Kitchen Garden

This post 'Borage' was originally uploaded by Tyra in the blog The Greenhouse in Tyra's Garden






Borage - Borago officinalis it was probably one of the first medicinal plant I planted in my potager, I think the reason was it is so easy to grow and also because it has such beautiful flowers. The leaves are rich in both potassium and calcium, they have a bit salty cucumber flavour which I think is a very pleasant taste . I think it is for that reason that it’s called ‘gurkört’ (cucumber-herb) in Swedish. The leaves are a bit 'downy' (is that the correct word? hairy) I do not really like that, but if you chop up the young leave they can be useful in all sorts of fresh cooking, a 'bit more green' tzatziki, for example, if you use them in warm cooking the hairiness disappears. I use the beautiful blue flowers from Borage in salads, or just sprinkle some as decoration on all kind of food like cakes, cream cheese or drinks.





The Borage, in my garden anyway, are all self sown, but is not a problematic weed, they are easy to manage. I have actually never bought any seeds and that I like. There are some others in my garden that also likes the Borage and those are the birds and the bees and you know we have to look after and care for our small friends especially the bees.



For medicinal uses: Borago officinalis - Plants For A Future




Borage - Borago officinalis at MMS Gardens - Hortus Medicus




Happy Bee Picture from the Bee Movie Do you want to watch some clips?





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8 comments:

Carol said...

Tyra, I have to say first how much I love your header photo... your fence is great! I used to grow borage and miss it ... thank you for reminding me to get it again next year. I have never eaten the leaves however... I will have to try them too. The flowers are precious however for all the reasons you mention. Lovely in salads and candied or floating in drinks. Yes to caring for our bees!! Carol

easygardener said...

The flowers are a lovely blue and it seeds well in my vegetable garden too. Well worth growing.

Yolanda Elizabet Heuzen said...

Borage is one of my fave's too and I have white borage too which I like even more than the blue one. The bees are absolutely mad about borage I noticed this summer. BTW I still have borage in flower, both the blue and the white and i love it.

Willow said...

Tyra, Thank you for posting about borage. I have never grown it and now I am interested in trying to do so! I am going to check American heirloom seed companies to see if they have any borage seeds for sale. Willow

TYRA Hallsénius Lindhe said...

Hi Carol and thank you I like that photo too, it really reminds me of the joy I feel of having a kitchen garden.

Phillip Oliver said...

I've never grown borage and I'm not sure if it is grown easily here. I'm going to investigate and perhaps try it next year.

joey said...

Though mine disappeared this year, I love borage, Tyra. The flowers (as shown in your stunning photo) are beautiful floating in summer soups :)

Greenhouses said...

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