The **borage (Borago officinalis)** is a fast, easy hardy annual for the low, herbaceous layer of a forest garden — bristly grey-green leaves topped with vivid blue, star-shaped flowers. **Fascinating notes:** - It is one of the finest bee plants in the garden: the flowers refill with nectar remarkably quickly, so they are worked again and again all day long. - Both the flowers and the young leaves taste of cucumber. The flowers are the traditional garnish for a jug of Pimm's and freeze beautifully into ice cubes. - Borage self-seeds with great enthusiasm — sow it once and it will reappear for years, drifting around the garden where it pleases. - It is a well-regarded companion plant, often grown beside strawberries and tomatoes, and is said to deter some pests while attracting pollinators. The leaves contain trace pyrrolizidine alkaloids, so eat them young and in moderation.