Earlier in the year I wrote about the plants I was going to sow for the insects in the garden; one of them was borage. Borage is a herb of non UK decent and native to the Middle East. Itβs leaves can be used for tea and its flowers for decorating salads, I however have planted them solely for the bees (and other pollinators who wish to visit them!) π
I sowed some of my seeds in March hoping I would get a ready supply of flowers throughout the summer; flowering generally occurs in June and July. I had read the plants can grow to 2 feet or more and because I donβt have a lot of bed space in the garden I have planted them in large pots. This also means I have been able spread them throughout the garden so the bees can travel through the area collecting nectar as they go.
I have been watching the borage ever since it started to flower and the bees have loved it. I have recorded 3 species of pollinator visiting them since June 20th, though I am sure I would see more if I watched all day π
I will definitely be sowing more for next year π I have read online that one person planted some borage in September and it over wintered well so this year I am going to collect seeds from my plants and do the same, hoping they survive and I will have flowers in April as well! If you have borage in your garden they do self-sow, so you may need to keep an eye on the number of plants year on year if you have a small space! although the bees will love you more, the more plants you can support π