Good company in the garden
It's important to have good company in the garden especially good company that can deter the unwelcome visitors. Herbs are great company to have.
Borage is an lovely scented herb that will attract bees and deter cabbage and tomato worms. It is also said to improve the taste of tomatoes. And did you know that borage leaves and flowers are edible? Of course you did, it's an herb isn't it?Borage is an annual herb that can grow between 60 and 100 cm. tall. The leaves and stems are hairy to touch and have a smell of fresh cucumber. The flowers have a honey like taste and are used in cake decorating or floating on top of a cooling drink. (freeze them in an ice cube first)
Once you plant borage in your garden, it will come up each year as it self seeds very easily. It just might not come up where it was last year.
Basil is a fragrant annual herb to grow and will chase away those unwanted visitors of tomato worms and thrips. It is another plant that is supposed to improve the flavour of tomatoes. So be sure to plant some beside your tomato plants. I usually grow basil in pots but will place the pots by the tomato plants. And if you make your own tomato sauce, basil will certainly improve the flavour of it.Don't forget to invite some good company into your garden.
5 gardening visitors:
One of the things I like to do with borage is pick the flowers and put them in empty ice cube trays. Then I fill them with water and put them in the freezer.
When people sit in the garden in the summer I serve them lemonade with a few lemon slices and those ice cubes floating about. They all call me "martha" then :-)
I find companion planting so interesting. I had no idea borage and basil were good for planting with tomatoes.
I'm so glad to see you love borage too, Crafty. A lot of people don't seem to appreciate it, maybe because it reseeds, but I haven't found it difficult to control, have you?
The most interesting thing I've eaten with borage was during a command performance type dinner hosted by the chef at a resort when I was on a press trip several years ago. The chef took borage leaves, rolled them around some sort of cheese--I think it was boccocini (sp?) the mozza-type cheese--, dipped them in a tempura batter, and deep fried them. They were completely amazing. He didn't tell us what they were before we tried them, and all of us--two food writers, one travel/gardening/ag writer, (me) and the press liaisons--were wowed. I've never tried to cook them, but just love the plants for themselves in the garden, attracting bees and making us happy with those blue flowers.
Hi Martha, oops Melanie, I've done that with borage flowers too ... so pretty floating aorund on a drink.
Hi amy - give some of these herbs a try in your garden. You will enjoy them for the fragrance and for them being edible as well as having other plants benefit.
I don't find borage difficult to control Jodi. If it sprouts up where I don't want it, I just pull it out. You can always snip of the blooms before they reseed to help control it. That sounds like a delicious recipe with borage leaves and cheese.
Great post, I really appreciate this info because I bought borage, basil ans tomato seeds this year. They will be very happy together!
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