Borage flowers pictures.

Borage, which is also called the starflower originated in Syria, but spread throughout the Mediterranean region, as well as Europe, North Africa, Asia, and South America.

Bees love borage flowers and are attracted to gardens where it blooms.

Its also said to strengthen the pest and disease resistance of plants growing around it, particularly strawberries.

Borage is another herb that has beautiful flowers and will surely add lots of colour to any garden.The blooms are edible as are the leaves. Leaves smell and taste of cool cucumber and are a welcome addition to salads and dips. Young leaves are eaten fresh in salads and sandwiches. Older leaves that may be too hairy to eat fresh are cooked as a vegetable like spinach or added to soups for their cucumber flavour. Peeled and chopped stems can be eaten as well for all parts of the plant taste like cucumber.

 Borage is an annual herb that grows up to two feet tall and three feet across. Large, oblong leaves alternate up the hairy stems. Leaves are also hairy, soft to the touch and fuzzy. Flowers are in loose clusters that tend to dangle or droop. The flowering stalks may have a reddish cast to them. Five blue, pointed petals make the blooms look like stars. Sometimes the flowers are white or rose-coloured, but usually they�re blue. It�s not uncommon to have pink flowers and blue flowers on the same plant.

From the rear of the flower five sepals seem to form a star-like pattern that alternates with the five petals. Five yellow stamens meet in the center of the blossom to form a cone. The bright yellow and blue colors make for a beautiful contrast and a very attractive flower.

Bees are definitely attracted to borage plants growing in the garden. It may be planted just for that reason, to bring the bees that will pollinate other garden plants and stimulate fruit and seed production.

As an annual herb borage dies off at the end of the growing season with the first cold weather. It is considered to be a self-seeder, so new plants will grow from seeds that were dropped the year before. It germinates late in spring, so for the best harvest start some plants indoors.

Borage blossoms are so pretty that they�re used for garnishing plates, salads and beverages. Cold drinks seem more refreshing with a couple of borage flowers floating on top. Whole flowers or just the petals can be used as a beautiful and scented garnish.

Description

Borage is an annual that grows to 3 feet tall.

Flowers: It has clear blue, star-shaped flowers about 3/4 of an inch in diameter that bloom in drooping clusters from midsummer to frost. Each flower has interesting black anthers at its cone-shaped center.

Leaves: The broad hairy leaves have prominent vains. The leaves on the upper portion of the plant are alternate and grow up to 6 inches long.

Flower and fragrance: Borage leaves and flowers have a salty, close-to-cucumber taste.

How To Grow

When To Plant: Sow in peat or newspaper pots six to eight weeks before your last spring frost date. Transplant the seedlings to the garden or direct sow the seeds after all danger of frost has passed.

Where to plant: Borage prefers full sun but tolerates partial shade, particularly in southern areas. However the plants usually do best in cooler weather.

Soil and fertility: Plant in moist, fertile, well-drained soil.

Plant spacing: You'll want to allow about 2 square feet per plant.

Pests: Borage is usually pest-free.

Diseases: Its susceptible to root rot in soggy soils.

Harvesting

When to harvest: You can harvest the leaves anytime in the growing season, gathering them in the morning when the dew has dried. Pick the flowers when they're fully open in the morning after they're dry.

How to harvest: Snip individual leaves or strip them off the cut stems. Snip the flowers or pinch off the entire cluster.

Freezing: Freeze borage flowers in ice cubes for a decorative touch in iced drinks.

Uses

Cooking: Borage has a flavor similar to a cucumber. You can mince some leaves in yogurt or snip them over soups , salads, curries, fish, and chicken dishes. Steam the leaves to eat as a vegetable. You can also add the fresh flowers to salads.

Vinegars: You can use the leaves to make a lightly flavored vinegar.

Crystalizing: Crystalize the flowers for decorations on pastries and such.

Medicinal: Borage leaf tea is said to be slightly laxative in action.

Hop flowers.

The ancient Romans grew hops as a garden plant and ate the young spring shoots which are reminiscent in taste of asparagus. English country folk and gypsies in the following centuries would continue to partake of hops in this manner and, as is so often the case, hops made its way into the herbalist�s repertoire via the kitchen � its medical value being discovered through noting the effects on people when the plant was eaten as a vegetable. Hops is a close relative of both stinging nettle and the Cannabis genus, and is native to North America, Europe, and Asia. It is distinguished by its vine-like leaves and unusual, green-yellow, scaly buds. The female flowers, called �strobiles�, are the parts now used medicinally and in the production of beer.

Hops have always been used to soothe and settle � by calming and toning the nerves in cases of anxiety, insomnia, tension and restlessness. The sedative action of hops, which has been confirmed experimentally, is due to its marked effect on the central nervous system. In addition it has been shown to have an antispasmodic action on smooth muscle which explains its use in the treatment of gastric and intestinal spasms. It also helps to stimulate digestion and trigger appetite. Oestrogenic substances are found in hops, as well as good antibiotic activity � it can be used externally for its antiseptic properties. As a sleeping aid, sachets of hops flowers have been put in/under pillows to release a calming aroma, and it can also be taken as a bed-time tea � it has a �pleasantly bitter� taste and a soothing, relaxing calm can be experienced within as little as 20 to 40 minutes after ingesting the herb.

As well as its primary use as a sedative, hops have been used traditionally in India and China for ailments such as headache, indigestion and intestinal cramps; and also by the Cherokee people as an anti-rheumatic, analgesic (it has some pain-relieving properties), and for kidney and urinary inflammation.

For horses, hops� effects are valuable when help is needed to re-model old habits and nervous attitudes. It is also indicated for general debility, especially when the animal has lost its appetite and is wasting. It is the bitter principle of hops, which is well known to beer drinkers, that predominantly accounts for this herb�s ability to stimulate the digestive system.

Actions include: sedative, visceral anti-spasmodic, bitter digestive tonic, astringent, antimicrobial (locally antiseptic and healing), anaphrodisiac, restoring tonic for nervous system, diuretic, anodyne (allays pain).

Please note: Hops contain oestrogenic substances and could interfere with pre-existing hormone therapy. Although hops as no known toxicity it can cause contact dermatitis in sensitive individuals. Hops most not be used in those suffering from depression.

Currant flowers pictures.

 Red-flowering Currant (Ribes sanguineum) is a Pacific Northwest native deciduous shrub. and member of the Currant family (Grossulariaceae).

Found along coastal areas from British Columbia, south to central California, it is well known as a hummingbird bush. The red flowers are early bloomers, making them a first stop for the hummingbirds following the Pacific Flyway on their northern migration.

Many of the plants in the Ribes genus are berry plants, including the Red-Flowering Currant. While its berries are edible.

A deciduous spring flowering garden shrub that is easy to grow,  giving a huge display of many bright coloured clusters of scented flowers in late March, early April.

The scented flowers attract early spring insects like bees, and the bunches of dark-blue or black berries become that ripen during the late summer, are enjoyed by wild birds.

There are quite a variety of colours and species of Flowering Currant, all of which are tolerant of most soil types, and require little care, besides occasional Autumn pruning, growning to a height of 2-2.5m  makes it ideal for creating an informal hedge.

Popular Varieties

�King Edward VII� � Deep crimson flowers � March-April

�Tydeman�s White� � White Flowers � March-April

�R. odoratum� or (Buffalo currant) � Yellow � April

In my garden the Flowering Current is in a semi -shaded position getting sun from the rise till late morning.