There’s nothing more like a love letter from the planet than self-seeding pop-up borage. It’s hard to say what it is that makes them the delight that they are -is it that they are edible? That they can be frozen in an ice cube to create joy in a cold drink? The vivid blue color or the way the pollinators love them? Or is it just that they appear where they want to, when they want to?
These turned up in my potato bed, and is still blooming in mid-October.
Borago officinalis is native to the mediterranean, but it self-seeds happily here in New England. Sometimes called bee bread or star flower, the blue of these flowers is vivid and cannot fail to capture the eye’s attention. Pliny the Elder called Borage a euphorosinum —a plant that elicits a feeling of euphoria. Consumed for centuries, the blue can be used as a dye and of course this lovely flower attracts bees to your garden.
Kat Maier notes that borage is a salty, mineral dense, oily herb, popular as a remedy for inflammation brought on by dry states.
For me, a perfect blue star flower suspended in my ice cube gives me joy. That’s enough for me.
the common weed st johns wort is known for its healing ability, and pollinators love it too.
The first couple of years we lived here there was no St Johns Wort in our yard. It’s a common weed – Hypericum perforatum – in these parts, and has good medicinal value. Used to support against depressive mood and for its healing benefits, it’s become famous. That said, it accelerates the metabolism of pharmaceuticals, which makes internal use contraindicated for folks on meds.
I complained to no one in particular the summer before last about its absence here in my garden, and wondered aloud where I could find enough to make some oil. The following summer a few St Johns Wort plants appeared in a few spots around the garden. And this year – pow! There were many. Who says we don’t get what we ask for? The savvy gardener has raised an eyebrow here and said “yes. And next year it’s all you’ll have in your garden!” But it does pull out easily enough.
So at around July 4th I harvested the flowers that have come to our yard. There was enough to make both oil and tincture. The tincture can be taken internally or used in liniment, and the oil can be used as it is or in a salve or liniment to support healing of the skin and pain relief. I use the tincture in formulas to support mood and I make healing salves regularly. In years past I’ve ordered both from Mountain Rose Herbs, who make wonderful organic products.
collecting St John’s wort is easy to do, and leaves your fingers stained red.
St Johns Wort only flowers once in the year, and not for very long. Miss your opportunity and wait another year.
When the time to strain the flowers came, the color was the deep red color St John’s Wort should be – an indication of the oil’s medicinal value. The tincture has an even redder, darker hue.
St Johns Wort oil and tincture are red.
Today I combined the St Johns Wort oil with Arnica flower oil and birch essential oil to make a salve for muscle and joint pain and stiffness.
There’s been so much growing in the garden this year- herbs, flowers, vegetables and fruit to admire, enjoy, water, and harvest….. and the wildlife the flowers attract – yellow finches, monarch and other butterflies, and hummingbirds… along with the less affable chipmunks and voles, has been its own story. But the flowers take center stage for everyone. Sunflowers, Wood Betony, Oregano, Sage, Calendula, morning glories, marshmallow, fennel, daisies, rudbeckia, echinacea, yarrow,, zinnia, lavender, and others… medicine for the mind, body, and soul.
A pot of nasturtium has become a favorite haunt of the local hummingbirds. When they appear on the deck visiting the flowers everything and everyone stops to watch and listen to them. They bring their kind of own medicine, too.
