creativelifeandtimes

Borago officinalis

Borage.

See it here in my current garden next to a tomato plant. This hairy herb is a favorite of mine. The flowers are also a favorite of bees, tomatoes, and children. I grew it in my first "serious" herb garden in San Antonio and later when my kids were small. Kids like the cucumber flavor of the blue star shaped flowers.

When the children were helping me garden we lived in the almost desert prairie of West Texas on 2 1/2 acres. The ground was caliche rock and blow sand. It can be a carpet of wild flowers in any seasons with just a bit of rain. But the summers are hot, windy, and usually very dry.

We had a nice water well and one February I got a load of topsoil for my birthday...a dump truck load of dirt! That was my all-time favorite birthday gift! But even with the additional soil I could usually grow flowers and herbs better than vegetables. But we tried!

Borage is suppose to be a great companion plant for tomatoes. I am hoping it will deter the dreaded great horned tomato worm. We found one of those on a pepper plant yesterday but not close to the borage.