Garden Source

The Borage, ‘Borage officinalis’, is like a handful of little stars plucked from a deep blue sky and sprinkled on a summer salad that may drive away all melancholy and it is nutricious, tastefully useful herb! Borage is a large plant. The flowers are usually blue, but may be pink or lavender. The Borage is an excellent bee plant and the leaves contain copious amounts of vitamins and minerals, especially calcium, potassium, and vitamin C. Borage leaves can be steamed as you would spinach or chard or used raw in salads, iced beverages, or in salad dressings. The stems can also be peeled and chopped and used like celery. The edible flowers can be used as garnish on green or fruit salads or candied for winter use. This is a very easy to grow ornamental plant for beginning gardeners. Plant in the spring after all danger of frost has past and in mild climates, plant anytime. Borage prefers well drained rich soil.

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The Siberian Iris Butter & Sugar, ‘Iris Siberica’, a spring planted herbacious root, produces beautiful yellow and white flowers. Siberian Irises are very easy to raise. They have graceful stems, a neat growth habit, and their bloom foliage is outstanding. The foliage is attractive all year, even after the first frost when the plant turns a red-brown color. These Irises are used in perennial borders and for landscaping. Siberian irises are very adaptable and hardy plants. They prefer soils that are highly organic, but will do fine with average soils.

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The Pineapple Sage, ‘Salvia elegans’, is a semiwoody, mostly herbaceous, subshrub, 3-5 ft () in height with an open-branched, airy habit. . Like most mints, pineapple sage has square stems. The bruised foliage of Pineapple sage really does smell like fresh pineapple. The red tubular flowers emerge in August. Use pineapple sage in the center of beds and borders, where its open, airy structure will not hide other plantings. It will grow to shrub size in a single season. Pineapple sage is often grown as an annual and often grown in containers. Northern gardeners can cut pineapple sage back and dig it up in autumn to overwinter indoors. The sages are tough and easy to grow and many attract butterflies and hummingbirds. The fresh leaves of pineapple sage are used in fruit salads and drinks. Crush a few fragrant leaves into hot or iced tea for a flavorful treat. The delicious flowers add color and flavor to salads and deserts. Pineapple sages make a stunning center piece or border plant.

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The Hardy Gloxinia, ‘Incarvillea delavayi’, a spring planted herbacious root, produces lovely pink flowers and are excellent container plants. The large, 3 inch, trumpet-shaped flowers come in clusters of 8 to 10 blooms. They prefer to be planted in a protected area that is fertile and well drained. Remove faded flowers to prolong bloom period. Protect this herbacious perennial in the winter.

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