They may call it Herb Of the Week in Waitrose, said Ophelia in the John Lewis sponsored Hamlet ...

[Hallgerda]

but what can you do with borage? I have a garden full of the stuff, and would be grateful for ideas before I do a big weeding session.

A sprig in a jug of Pimms is traditional.

Put the flowers in icecubes. When they go in G&T they turn pink.

Oooh, really, JennsterSlugSlayer? I must try that!

Thanks also to mouseman. Trouble is, I'm really overrun with the stuff, and I'd need a new liver if I put it all in booze.

nice in summer soup. or a little in a salad. tastes like celery.

eeeek. scrap that. was thinking of LOVAGE

And it is thought that if you grow them near tomato plants they improve the flavour.

Lovage I could handle, islingtonponce

I have a feeling you can use it as a green manure too.

How do you do green manure, Jennster?

You dig the living plant into the ground as a manure. I would do it before it flowers though, otherwise you will be reseeding it everywhere. If it's already flowering, I have a feeling you can use it like comfrey and stick it in a bucket with a load of water, let it rot and use the liquid as a fertiliser, but I'm not so sure on that.

Thanks. It's flowering already, and I have a nasty feeling that any little bits I've broken off in the past have regenerated themselves into new plants. Anything stuck in buckets to rot will be tipped out by my children so they can use the bucket for something more interesting. So it'll have to be the G&T, I fear

We went to dinner at Riva on Friday (lush Italian restaurant in Barnes) and I ate fresh ravioli stuffed with Borage, so there you go! It was yummy sort of cucumbery-spinachy. I think you can also put it in sandwiches, chopped up fine, will go and check in my nerdy 'Eating Wild Plants' type book.

(Riva is v good for celeb-spotting, also in that night were Lawrence Dallaglio, Chris Patten & Fay Maschler - narurally they were all thinking ooh look there's Mr & Mrs Tweedy what are they eating?)

From this book: Edible Wild Plants & Herbs by Pamela Michael

Borage with Cottage Cheese
6-8 young borage leaves
a few blue borage flowers
1 small carton cottage cheese
freshly milled black pepper

Wash the leaves, dry them, then slice or chop finely. Lift the blue flowers from the hairy calyx. Turn the cottage cheese into a small bowl and mix with a good grinding of black pepper. Stir in the chopped leaves and arrange the flowers on top in a circle, with one in the centre.

She also recommends Dried Borage tea (fresh borage does not make good tea), Borage Flower syrup, Borage flowers in ice cubes and sugared borage flowers.

Thanks, MrsTweedy. I'll buy some cottage cheese and give that a go!

Does it smell nice? I'm sure I had some borage bubble bath once - maybe you could make a bath soak?

ooh look] You could make toner!

Interesting thought about the bubble bath, snowleopard. As I've never used toner in my life (and don't intend to start at 42) I think I'll pass on that one though. Thanks

Borage is also starflower (as in GLA Gamma Linnoleic Acid long chain fatty acid food supplement)

Borage is good at surviving, but not as invasive and difficult to get rid of as perennial weeds.

Jennster, next time there's a "what's your MN specialist subject" thread, you can put yours down as borage . I didn't know starflower was borage. I had, however, twigged that lemon balm (which also grows vigorously in my garden) is melissa, another ingredient of expensive herbal potions.

How sad am I?

Probably less sad than me - mine are public toilets, birdwatching and South London parish pump issues