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Produce => Non Edible Plants => Topic started by: pye on July 09, 2007, 22:58:14
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I drove through the Chilterns this afternoon past some beautiful purple fields, I wondered if it was lavender at first but I stopped to have a look and it was borage (or something v similar).
Is borage grown as a commerical crop? Anyone know what it's used for?
It was a lovely sight, made me go "ooooh!" when I first saw it. :)
Here's a pic I took on my phone, bit blurry and rubbish, doesn't give the full effect AT ALL! ;D
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well I think that's just lovely and no wonder it made you go 'ooooh' when you saw it - beautiful colour.
Got an idea borage is grown for some specific purpose, seem to have read something somewhere but can't quite remember....must google it :)
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It is grown as a commercial crop and the seed harvested is crushed to produce a valuable oil/chemical but not sure what it is called or used for!
The flowers can be used for decoration in cooking or glasses of Pimms.
PS borage is very attractive to honey bees and in a good season produces a very pale honey.
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It tastes a bit like cucumber, if you can get past the prickly stems and leaves, the flowers are edible but I'm not over impressed!
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Is it not Phacalia?
Gren Manure...
???
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I think that boarage is used as an essential oil, i have a vauge recolection that its known as star flower oil. Although i might sit corrected.
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saddad - I am a bit rubbish with flowers so I had to look phacelia up:
http://www.organiccatalog.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=21_51&products_id=398&osCsid=e7d139cf7941225922c96b2b8d906152
It wasn't this I saw. It looked a lot like borage, with the droopy flower buds, but like I said I am not very knowledgeable about flowers so it could be anything!
I'll be back up there in a few days, will try to get a closer look. It was very pretty, whatever it was. :)
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how interesting, it must be borage. Grown for GLA, same as evening primrose. Wonder if there are any blue fields on Google Earth
http://money.uk.msn.com/investing/articles/nicklouth/article.aspx?cp-documentid=4762266 (http://money.uk.msn.com/investing/articles/nicklouth/article.aspx?cp-documentid=4762266)
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Read that it is turned into Starflower Oil. I also know it is used by a Honey Farmer and the bees produce beautiful tasting honey from Borage. I look forward to afew jars of the stuff every year.
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I would have thought it was linseed, but not having seen it close up ... Interesting.
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We have linseed here too ,looks similar.Used to be a chap(still maybe) who grew larkspur for confetti, that was pretty too.
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Ive just been reading about the bloke that grows larkspur for confetti in country homes and interiors hes based in Pershore Worcestershirehe grows 12 acres now his web site is www.confettidirect.co.uk
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I've got some in my garden that I grew from seed. You can infuse it to make tea, not sure what the medicinal properties are though.
Just tried a flower, think I'll forget the tea!
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I have some that I sowed from seed earlier this year and planted it in my front garden. It looks great, is covered in flowers and bees! I quite like the flowers, you must remove the green back and the dark purple middle and only eat the blue. I am thinking of having a floral salad tomorrow for supper as I have nasturtiums, pansies, chives and borage I could sprinkly over it. How very jolly!
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Oh, reading back, we have a field at the back of our allotment that is full of linseed and is that blue. I often wondered if it were lavender, so I asked the farmer. Now I know. It is breathtaking!
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Oh dear, too late, I popped the whole lot in my mouth. How long have I got ? :'(
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have just googled it and there's lots of info about it (with pictures).....realise now that I take a large dose of this everyday (in capsule form - Starflower oil) for it's GLA content - at one time I took evening primrose oil but the starflower oil was recommended as it contains more GLA.
When I lived in Essex (my home county) there were lots of fields around with linseed growing - also very pretty.
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Long enough to try again Cazy. ;D
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There are a number of fields of this in north wales, yes, it's linseed.
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Ah! that's borage? One of my weeds that I regularly pull out cos I've never planted it. :o ;D ;D :P
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Pretty on top of a cheesecake (borage) cuts out a lot of the calories.
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It's definitely the source of starflower oil. I suppose someone though that sounded better than borage oil. It's a superb bee plant as well; it's become a weed on my plot, and it gets more attention from them than anything else in the garden.
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Went back that way today, here's some more pics with a camera this time.
It's up round Bledlow Ridge, such pretty countryside and teeming with red kites too. Gorgeous. :)
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Borage!!!!!!! ;D ;D ;D
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What fabulous pictures Pye, lovely to see - a very beautiful flower and definitely Borage :)
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Wow Pye. Those pics are just great.
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Still breathing Emma. ;D
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cazy, avoid the "tea". It is unimaginably foul, to the nth degree.
Geoff.
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Phewie cazy! ;D
Obviously a star flower oil production farm!
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Great pictures...can you put them in the random pics so that we can see them often and remember summer and sunshine?
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What's the relationship between borage and comfrey - they look similar. I've got loads of comfrey. (don't know why you would want to know that ;-)
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the borage family includes comfrey, forget me nots, etc.
I drive past fields of borage on the way to work, lovely, but yes, grown commercially in loads of places for its oil.
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ah i see - yes they do look similar and i can see a similarity to gorget-me-nots in the colouring of the flowers
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I want something to fill my front border, never thought of borage even though I've got a few pots of the stuff round the back and up at the lottie.
As it's supposed to self seed everywhere, I may just give that a shot.
;D