It’s a concern being voiced by conscientious gardeners everywhere: is it okay to plant a non-native flower that feeds pollinators but also self-sows freely? One suspect that is being discussed in many online gardening groups in borage. It shows up in pollinator-garden seed mixes that the purchasers expected to be 100% native. It features at seed swaps and in seed libraries because its seeds are easy to collect, and established gardeners know it always brings the bees in. But it also sows itself aggressively, and it didn’t evolve alongside North American pollinators. The people want to know: is it problematic to grow it? Is an aggressive plant necessarily invasive? 

That’s the question that sets the stage for this week’s versus episode. Sean takes on the borage question while Erin examines her own potentially-problematic fave, cosmos. They look into each plant’s origins, its spread around the world, and how manageable it is once it’s in your garden. They examine studies about wildlife use and raise questions about nectar and pollen quality. Along the way, they uncover a treasure trove of interesting science…and a wealth of questions still to be answered. 

Who brought the most fascinating facts about their plant this week? Vote for borage or cosmos by tagging us on social media and using the hashtag #PAWFaceOff. 

Comments? Feedback? Want your garden question to be featured in a future Q&A segment? Email us, reach out over social media, or get Q&A priority by supporting us on Patreon. 

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Credits

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Citations

What is Borage?

borage. (2025). In Merriam-Webster Dictionary. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/borage 

A broad overview of Borage

Hageman, B. (2024, December 10). Borage: a beautiful herb with many benefits. Grow Organic. https://www.groworganic.com/blogs/articles/borage-a-beautiful-herb-with-many-benefits?srsltid=AfmBOorlAOi28B_PjvoYMORhIqEzDctHk2McssEbhsKe870WpYnYA8yn

Use of borage for gamma-linolenic acid (GLA)

Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. (n.d.). Specialty cropportunitites - borage. Specialty Cropportunities. Retrieved February 24, 2025, from https://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/CropOp/en/indus_misc/oil_crops/borage.html

Borage’s medical potential

BORAGE: Overview, uses, side effects, precautions, interactions, dosing and reviews. (n.d.). Web MD. Retrieved February 24, 2025, from https://www.webmd.com/vitamins/ai/ingredientmono-596/borage 

The origin of the word cosmos for the well-arranged flower and the well-ordered universe

Liddell, H. G., & Scott, R. (n.d.). κόσμος. Henry George Liddell, a Greek-English Lexicon. Retrieved February 24, 2025, from https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0057:entry=ko/smos

Kosmos Meaning - Greek Lexicon | New Testament (NAS). (n.d.). Bible Study Tools. Retrieved February 24, 2025, from https://www.biblestudytools.com/lexicons/greek/nas/kosmos.html

Growing and keeping cosmos as cut flowers

Boeckmann, C. (2025, February 7). Cosmos Flowers: Planting, growing, and caring for Cosmos. Almanac.com. https://www.almanac.com/plant/cosmos

Care and wildlife use

Iannotti, M. (2024, July 19). How to grow and care for cosmos. The Spruce. https://www.thespruce.com/how-to-grow-cosmos-4125538

An account of leafcutter bees using cosmos

Burlew, R. (2017, March 31). Cosmos: a multipurpose bee flower. Honey Bee Suite. https://www.honeybeesuite.com/cosmos-a-multipurpose-bee-flower/

The food value of cosmos pollen and nectar

Hicks, D. M., Ouvrard, P., Baldock, K. C. R., Baude, M., Goddard, M. A., Kunin, W. E., Mitschunas, N., Memmott, J., Morse, H., Nikolitsi, M., Osgathorpe, L. M., Potts, S. G., Robertson, K. M., Scott, A. V., Sinclair, F., Westbury, D. B., & Stone, G. N. (2016). Food for Pollinators: Quantifying the nectar and pollen resources of urban flower meadows. PLoS ONE, 11(6), e0158117. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0158117

Use of quercetin in cosmos rhizomes for treating malaria

Ali, A. H., Sudi, S., Shi-Jing, N., Hassan, W. R. M., Basir, R., Agustar, H. K., Embi, N., Sidek, H. M., & Latip, J. (2021). Dual Anti-Malarial and GSK3Β-Mediated Cytokine-Modulating activities of quercetin are requisite of its potential as a Plant-Derived therapeutic in malaria. Pharmaceuticals, 14(3), 248. https://doi.org/10.3390/ph14030248

One of many personal accounts of using Sulphureus for dye

Keegan, G. (n.d.). Cosmos. Graham Keegan. Retrieved September 5, 2023, from https://www.grahamkeegan.com/cosmos?srsltid=AfmBOooSp8-OAkqSDU6XCI6pd0VP-Ny6aGKZvqfDgCfORtTfFTHmEuRu

Commentary on the potential invasiveness of cosmos

Ask Mr. Smarty Plants. (2013, April 26). Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center - the University of Texas at Austin. https://www.wildflower.org/expert/show.php?id=9284 

Timestamps 

00:37 Should We Grow Non-Native "Beneficial" Flowers?

01:41 Erin’s Sentimental Attachment to Cosmos

03:53 The Plant Face-Off

04:14 Sean’s Plant: Borage

04:25 The Boraginaceae Family

05:19 Borage Etymology

05:58 True Annuals, and How They Die

12:12 What Makes a Flower Perfect?

14:15 Borage’s Native Range

15:11 Gamma-Linolenic Acid

17:20 Eating Borage

18:44 Borage Benefits and Warnings

21:35 Are Hairy Plants Pest Assassins?

25:05 Do Naturalized Plants Stay Non-Invasive? 

30:56 Water Break

32:33 Erin’s Plant: Cosmos

34:01 Cosmos Name Origins

36:19 What’s a Half-Hardy Annual?

37:31 Uses for Cosmos

38:25 Seeking High-Quality Nectar and Pollen

42:22 Growing Cosmos

43:09 Can You Eat Cosmos? No One Agrees.

47:43 Medicinal Uses of Cosmos

49:25 Cosmos Range and Invasiveness

53:38 Do All Flowers Benefit Pollinators?

56:17 Deciding Whether to Plant Non-Native Flowers

57:46 The Things That Get You Gardening

58:56 Contact Us and Outro