Borage

Today's the day ...................... to increase the joy of the mind

' . . . .Those of our time do use the flowers in salads to exhilerate and make the mind glad. There be also many things made of these used everywhere for the comfort of the heart, for the driving away of sorrow and increasing the joy of the mind. 
The leaves and flowers of Borage put into wine make men and women glad and merry and drive away all sadness, dullness and melancholy, as Dioscorides and Pliny affirm. Syrup made of the flowers of Borage comfort the heart, purge melancholy and quiet the frantic and lunatic person. The leaves eaten raw engender good blood, especially in those that have been lately sick. . . '

So said one John Gerard (c.1545–1612) - an English herbalist with a large garden in Holburn, now part of London. His 1,484-page illustrated Herball, or Generall Historie of Plantes, first published in 1597, became a popular gardening and herbal book in the 17th century.

Here's some self-seeded borage flowers from my herb garden, which make a welcome return year upon year ....................