Borage Family Ramblings

I’ve been becoming increasingly intrigued by plant families over the last couple of years, and in how to recognise the tenuous links between various plants that show some sort of family relationship.  I’ve been having particular fun recently with the Borage family – probably because we’ve got at least four members of it growing locally, all of whom are in flower at the moment!  The plan over the next couple of weeks is to blog about this plant family and about some of the members of it that I can get my grubby mitts on easily over here – today’s post will be a brief introduction to a few members.   So, without further ado, I present…

…The Borage Family!!!!   (Imagine a big fanfare at this point and a huge blue velvet curtain slowly being lifted!)

 

Over the next two weeks I shall blog about each of the above beauties (ok, maybe the two Comfreys will go in one blog post…)  and I’m going to be meandering on about Borage plant botany as well, just because I can, and because it gives me a good reason to polish up my old plant botany skills and add to them!  Hopefully this will prove interesting to some of you, and there will of course be the usual quantities of pretty pictures!

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Eternal Alchemy

Spring’s sweetness steals my words.

I can only watch, breathless, delighted,

as the oldest, truest alchemy of all

turns winter’s leaden skies

into the green and gold shades of spring.

Blue sky above,

and flowers, the scented breeze

better, more intoxicating,

than even the rarest honeyed mead.

The world renews around me, my feet

bare on the warm soil, the green grass,

verdant leaves inviting my touch,

adoring the sun’s return, just as I do,

face turned to the sky as the sun

slides warm hands over my skin,

silken breezes and longer days

seducing me anew.