One of our favorite summer blues is borage, whose sky-colored, star-shaped blooms don't just look cool ― they also taste cool, with a flavor similar to cucumbers.

Drop the edible flowers in iced drinks, green salads, and fruit compotes, or sprinkle them over sliced cucumbers.

To grow, sow seeds ½-inch deep in an area with loose soil and at least a half-day's sun. Keep soil moist until seeds germinate, then thin seedlings so remaining plants have 2 feet of space each.

Borage blooms generously and produces lots of seeds; sow it once and volunteers will supply all future crops.

Purchase edible plants

• Order borage seeds from the Natural Gardening Company (707/766-9303).

• Buy from Bay Flora, a new Berkeley-based online nursery, and support a favorite cause too: At least 10 percent of all orders go to an organization of your choice. Look for unusual edible plants as well as botanical-inspired housewares.