Why a Christmas Spider? Well, according to legend:

On Christmas Eve, a long time ago, a gentle mother was busily cleaning the house for the most wonderful day of the year... Christmas day, not a speck of dust was left. Even the spiders had been banished from their cosy corner on the ceiling. They had fled to the farthest corner of the attic. The Christmas tree was beautifully decorated. The poor spiders were frantic, for they could not see the tree, nor be present for Santa's impending visit. Then the oldest and wisest spider suggested that perhaps they could wait until everyone went to bed and then get a closer look.

When the house was dark and silent, the spiders crept out of their hiding place. When they neared the Christmas tree, they were delighted with the beauty of it. The spiders crept all over the tree, up and down, over the branches and twigs and saw every one of the pretty things.

The spiders loved the Christmas tree. All night long they danced in the branches, leaving them covered with spider webs. When Santa Claus came with the gifts for the children, he saw the tree covered in spider webs, and smiled to see how happy the spiders were, but he knew the mother, who had worked so hard to make everything perfect, would not be pleased when she saw what the spiders had done.

With love in his heart and a smile on his lips, Santa reached out and gently touched the spider webs. The spider webs started to sparkle and shine! They had all turned into sparkling, shimmering silver and gold.

The bright blue, star-shaped flowers (which bloom most of the summer) make borage one of the prettiest herb plants, though the dark green fuzzy leaves are rather plain. The flavour of the leaves resembles that of cucumber. The plant will grow to a height of about 60cm.

Borage is not a fussy plant, but the richer the soil, the bushier the plant will be. It prefers full sun, and needs protection from wind as it is easily blown over. Seeds can be sown throughout the season, and once growth is established, it will continue to seed itself. Place plants close together so they can support each other. A plant or two in an indoor pot will provide leaves all winter, but it will need lots of sun.

Borage is an excellent companion plant for tomatoes, squash and strawberries. The plant actually improves the flavor of tomatoes growing nearby.

Borage flowers and leaves are the traditional decoration for gin-based summer cocktails, and may be set in ice cubes to garnish other drinks.

The flowers and young leaves may be used to garnish salads. dips, and cucumber soups.

Candied borage flowers make attractive cake decorations.

Chopped leaves can be added to soups and stews during the last few minutes of cooking.

The leaves can be cooked with cabbage leaves (two parts cabbage, one part borage.)

Borage is rich in minerals, especially potassium.

A tea made with borage helps to reduce fevers and ease chest colds.

Sow early Spring-early Summer, and late Summer/early Autumn.

Packet of 25 seeds. Comes with a copy of this description, and sowing instructions.

A lovely ornamental Basil with a sweet anise fragrance. Used in Thai and Vietnamese cuisine. Grows to 45cm.

Sow late Spring/early Summer, and late Summer/early Autumn.

Packet of 25 seeds. Comes with a copy of this description, and sowing instructions.