Product description

Borage Common, often known as Starflower, is a lively and decorative herb cultivated primarily for its edible, vivid blue flowers and fresh, textured leaves. The flavour of the foliage is distinct and refreshing, tasting remarkably like cool cucumber, and is released when the young leaves are chopped into salads or soups. It is traditionally used as a beautiful garnish for summer cocktails—most famously in a jug of Pimm’s or gin—and the flowers can be candied to decorate cakes with a sweet, crystallised crunch.

This plant is typically grown as a robust, upright annual that produces thick, hollow stems covered in silvery bristles. It is a magnet for pollinators, often buzzing with bees, and while the individual plants die back in winter, they self-seed so vigorously that they effectively behave like a perennial patch. For the best results and a constant display of flowers, plant it in a location with full sun, though it tolerates partial shade well. It is moderately drought-tolerant but thrives in any well-drained soil that is kept moist, particularly if you want to harvest the tender young leaves.

Please Note: When purchasing plants please consider that each live item is unique and may therefore differ from the images shown, which are for illustration purposes only - The plant will be supplied in a growers pot.