Borage (Borago officinalis): The Beautiful Blue Starflower That Belongs Beside Your Tomatoes

If you are looking for a beautiful, useful, and easy-to-grow plant to add to your vegetable garden, borage (Borago officinalis) deserves a place on your list. Sometimes called starflower, borage is an old-fashioned herb with striking blue, star-shaped flowers, fuzzy gray-green foliage, and a long history of use in cottage gardens, herb gardens, and vegetable gardens.

Borage is much more than a pretty flower. It can serve several purposes in the garden at once. Its brilliant blue flowers are highly attractive to bees and other pollinating insects, its foliage can be used in the kitchen when young, its flowers can be used as edible garnishes, and it is commonly grown as a companion plant around tomatoes, strawberries, squash, and other garden crops.

Perhaps one of its most interesting uses for vegetable gardeners is its traditional reputation as a companion for tomatoes and a plant that may help discourage tomato hornworms. While companion-planting claims should not be treated as a guaranteed pest-control method, borage is still an excellent plant to incorporate into a diverse garden ecosystem.

And there is another reason I love borage: you can eat it!

Young borage leaves can be finely chopped and incorporated into soft foods such as cream cheese, making a wonderful herb spread for sandwiches, crackers, toast, bagels, wraps, and vegetable sandwiches. The flavor is often described as cucumber-like, with a fresh, slightly peppery or herbal quality that adds an interesting bite to creamy spreads.

Let's take a closer look at this remarkable garden plant.

What Is Borage?

Borage, botanically known as Borago officinalis, is an annual herb belonging to the Boraginaceae, or forget-me-not, family. It originated in the Mediterranean region and has been cultivated and appreciated for generations.

The plant has a somewhat wild, informal appearance that fits beautifully into cottage gardens and naturalistic vegetable gardens. Unlike finely textured herbs such as dill or fennel, borage has substantial, coarse-looking foliage covered in noticeable hairs.

One of the easiest ways to recognize borage is by its flowers.

The blooms are typically an intense sky-blue to brilliant blue, although white-flowered forms also exist. Each flower has five pointed petals arranged in a distinctive star shape. The flowers often nod downward from the plant, giving the entire plant a charming, almost delicate appearance despite the rather coarse texture of its leaves.

The contrast between the rough, gray-green foliage and brilliant blue flowers makes borage especially attractive when planted among vegetables.

How Big Does Borage Get?

Borage is not a tiny herb that disappears beneath your tomato plants. It can become a substantial garden plant.

A mature borage plant commonly reaches approximately 2 to 3 feet tall and can spread approximately 1½ to 2 feet wide, depending upon growing conditions, soil, moisture, and available space. The University of California Master Gardener program describes borage as one of the taller herbs, reaching up to about three feet tall and two feet wide.

Because of its size, give borage room to develop. A plant that starts as a small seedling can become surprisingly large as the season progresses.

The stems can become somewhat sprawling or floppy, particularly as the plant becomes heavy with foliage and flowers. Rather than seeing this as a problem, many gardeners allow borage to naturally weave through neighboring plants.

Its somewhat relaxed growth habit can actually make it look wonderful in a mixed vegetable and flower garden.

What Does Borage Look Like?

Borage has several distinctive characteristics.

The leaves are gray-green, oval to somewhat elongated, and covered with coarse, bristly hairs. Young leaves are considerably more tender than older leaves. As the plant matures, the leaves become increasingly rough and hairy.

The stems are also hairy, giving the entire plant a fuzzy appearance.

Then come the flowers.

Borage produces clusters of beautiful, nodding, five-pointed blue flowers. Their star-like shape is one of the plant's most recognizable features. Bees seem particularly attracted to these flowers, making borage an excellent addition to a pollinator-friendly vegetable garden.

The combination of blue flowers and gray-green foliage makes borage attractive even when you are growing it primarily for practical reasons.

Borage Is Especially Valuable to Pollinators

One of the greatest reasons to grow borage is its relationship with pollinating insects.

When borage begins flowering, bees are often extremely interested in it. Borage is recognized as a valuable bee plant and attracts honey bees, bumblebees, and various native bees.

This is particularly useful in a vegetable garden.

A garden containing only vegetables may not provide as many sources of nectar and pollen as a diverse garden containing vegetables, herbs, flowers, and flowering plants.

Adding borage helps create a more diverse garden environment.

That diversity is important because a healthy garden ecosystem contains many different organisms rather than concentrating entirely on one crop.

When you grow tomatoes alongside flowering plants such as borage, you are not simply thinking about your tomatoes—you are creating a garden that can support pollinators and beneficial insects as well.

Can Borage Deter Tomato Hornworms?

This is where borage becomes especially interesting to tomato growers.

Many gardening references describe borage as a companion plant that can help deter tomato hornworms. West Coast Seeds, for example, specifically lists borage as a companion plant for tomatoes and describes it as helping deter hornworms.

However, it is important to understand what this means.

Borage should not be considered a guaranteed hornworm repellent.

The strongest extension research on herb companions and tomato hornworms currently identifies basil (click to add to cart) as a herb that can mask tomato plants and reduce egg-laying behavior by adult tomato hornworm moths. Research-based companion-planting guidance also emphasizes that herbs may confuse pests through visual and chemical cues rather than necessarily "repelling" them like a pesticide.

Therefore, I would consider borage part of a diverse, integrated garden strategy, rather than relying on it as the only way to control hornworms.

Borage Loves Cooler Weather

Another wonderful characteristic of borage is that it performs particularly well during the cooler portions of the growing season.

Borage is generally considered a cool-season annual, and it can be especially useful for gardeners looking for something to grow during periods when temperatures are moderate rather than extremely hot.

It can be planted in early spring and, depending on your climate, can also be established for a fall garden.

This makes borage a particularly interesting plant for gardeners who want to keep their gardens productive beyond the traditional summer growing season.

Early Spring Borage

Borage can be direct-sown outdoors before or around the spring planting season because it does not particularly appreciate having its root disturbed.

Its long taproot is one reason experienced gardeners generally recommend sowing borage directly where they want it to grow.

Instead of transplanting a large plant, simply give the seed a permanent location.

Fall Borage

Borage can also be useful as part of a fall planting strategy in areas where the climate permits.

For gardeners in milder regions, fall sowing can provide plants that establish during cooler weather and continue growing or flowering when conditions remain favorable.

In colder regions, fall planting should be timed carefully because the plant is an annual and severe winter conditions can end its growth.

The important point is that borage should not be thought of exclusively as a midsummer herb.

Where Should You Plant Borage?

Borage prefers full sun, although it can tolerate some light shade. It is not particularly demanding about soil and can grow in a variety of garden soils as long as drainage is adequate.

For a tomato garden, consider placing borage:

• Along the edge of the tomato bed

• Between larger vegetable plantings where there is adequate room

• Near tomatoes without crowding their root zones

• Along a garden pathway

• Near strawberries

• Near squash and cucumbers

• In a pollinator garden adjacent to vegetables

• In a cottage-style vegetable garden

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Remember that borage gets large.

A tiny seedling can eventually become a substantial plant, so avoid squeezing several plants into a tiny space.

Borage Is Easy to Grow From Seed

Borage is one of those plants that can make a gardener feel successful because it is relatively uncomplicated to grow.

Direct sowing is generally preferable because borage develops a taproot that can be damaged during transplanting.

Plant the seeds where you want the plants to remain.

Keep the soil reasonably moist while the seeds are establishing, then allow the plants to develop.

Once established, borage is relatively unfussy.

It prefers sunlight and reasonably well-drained soil and doesn't require an elaborate growing program.

Borage Can Reseed Itself

One of the most interesting characteristics of borage is its ability to self-seed.

Once you grow borage and allow some of its flowers to mature and produce seeds, you may find new borage plants appearing the following year. This can be wonderful if you enjoy a naturalized garden. Instead of purchasing and planting borage every year, you can allow the plant to drop some seed naturally. Fortunately, young volunteer plants are easy to recognize once you know what the foliage looks like.

Borage and the Kitchen

Now we come to one of my favorite reasons to grow borage.

It is edible.

The young leaves can be used in cooking and in various fresh preparations, while the beautiful flowers can be used as edible garnishes.

The flavor of borage is often compared with cucumber, particularly in young leaves and flowers.

Some gardeners also notice a mild herbal or slightly peppery quality in the leaves, especially when chopped and incorporated into savory foods. Because the leaves are hairy, young leaves are generally preferable for fresh culinary use. Older leaves become increasingly coarse and prickly.

Chopped Borage Leaves and Cream Cheese

One especially simple way to enjoy young borage leaves is to chop them finely and mix them into cream cheese.

Start with young, tender leaves.

Wash them thoroughly, dry them, and remove any particularly tough portions. Finely chop the leaves and stir them into softened cream cheese.

You can enjoy the resulting spread on:

• Bagels

• Toast

• Crackers

• Sandwiches

• Wraps

• Cucumber sandwiches

• Vegetable sandwiches

• Tea sandwiches

• Fresh bread

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The creamy texture of cream cheese works beautifully with the fresh character of borage.

You can also combine chopped borage with other garden herbs such as chives, parsley, dill, or a small amount of garlic for a flavorful garden-herb cream cheese.

A few slices of cucumber alongside the borage cream cheese can emphasize the plant's naturally cucumber-like character.

Harvesting Borage

If you intend to use borage leaves for eating, harvest young leaves whenever possible.

Young leaves are more tender and easier to incorporate into fresh foods.

Older leaves become increasingly hairy and coarse.

The University of California Master Gardener guidance specifically recommends harvesting leaves when they are young, before flowering begins, because older leaves become prickly.

Harvesting young foliage regularly can also help you maintain a more manageable plant.

Always harvest from plants that have been grown specifically for culinary use and have not been treated with pesticides or other products that are not approved for edible crops.

An Important Note About Eating Borage

Although borage has a long history as a culinary herb, there is an important modern safety consideration. Borage contains naturally occurring pyrrolizidine alkaloids, compounds that can be harmful to the liver when consumed in significant quantities or over prolonged periods. For that reason, borage should not be treated like an herb that you consume in large quantities every day. Using small amounts of young leaves as a culinary ingredient is very different from consuming concentrated borage preparations. Pregnant or breastfeeding individuals, children, and anyone with liver concerns should be especially cautious and should consult an appropriate healthcare professional before consuming borage. This is also one reason I prefer describing borage as an occasional culinary herb and garnish rather than presenting it as a medicinal food or daily supplement.

Borage in the Flower Garden

Even if you never eat it, borage deserves consideration simply because it is beautiful.

The blue star-shaped flowers can provide a striking contrast against green tomato foliage.

Imagine a row of tomato plants covered with yellow flowers and green fruit, with blue borage stars blooming nearby. The colors can be spectacular.

Borage also works beautifully alongside:

• Tomatoes

• Strawberries

• Cucumbers

• Squash

• Melons

• Herbs

• Roses

• Cottage-garden flowers

• Native pollinator plants

  
  

Its somewhat informal appearance makes it particularly appropriate for gardens designed to look natural rather than highly manicured.

The Bottom Line

Borage, Borago officinalis, is one of those old-fashioned garden plants that deserves renewed attention. Its beautiful blue star-shaped flowers bring color to the vegetable garden, while its nectar attracts bees and other pollinators. Its young leaves can be used as an occasional culinary ingredient, and finely chopped borage makes an interesting addition to cream cheese for sandwiches, bagels, crackers, and fresh garden wraps.

For tomato growers, borage is an appealing companion plant. It is traditionally associated with helping deter tomato hornworms.

Borage is one of those wonderful garden plants that proves a vegetable garden can be both productive and beautiful—and sometimes the best plants are the ones that give you more than one reason to grow them.