Wonderful Weeds: BORAGE – A Prolific Self-seeding Plant Which Can Swamp its Neighbours, But is a Big Hit With Bees and Other Insects

Borage Borago officinalis

Life cycle: annual/biennial

Use the pretty blue flowers to decorate salads or freeze them in ice cubes, or add flowers/young leaves to drinks.

Grown as a herb, this prolific self-seeder has escaped in many gardens and should be treated as a weed, except for any plants which you want to allow to develop and flower throughout the summer. Beware though – a fully grown plant can reach 90cm (3ft) tall and wide and soon swamps its neighbours. The bristly-hairy, cucumber-flavoured leaves can irritate skin. An exceptional plant for attracting bees and other insects. Overwintering rosettes produce the earliest flowers.

Earth-friendly solutions: Hoe; pull up; mulch.

Moderately easy to control.

Check out some other wonderful weeds:

Chickweed Stellaria media

Dandelion Taraxacum officinale

Hogweed Heracleum sphondylium

Teasel Dipsacus fullonum

This is an edited extract from my book Weeds: An Organic, Earth-friendly Guide to Their Identification, Use and Control.

Learn how to identify 60 common garden and allotment weeds. Find out how to enjoy, utilise and gently get rid of weeds, without the use of polluting chemical weedkillers…

Find out more about Weeds and buy the book direct from the author here.

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