Symphytum grandiflorum - Comfrey

Symphytum grandiflorum, better known as trailing comfrey, is a particularly robust perennial plant that grows vigorously as a thick ground cover in any good garden soil, significantly reducing the appearance of weeds. It is an easy-to-grow flowering plant that adds charm to the garden in spring, and is useful to the gardener well as the garden. Its cream-white bell-shaped flowers bring life to shady and sunny borders and provide food for bees. Its vegetation has multiple uses in an organic or permaculture garden. Its spread can be easily controlled by removing unwanted suckers.

Trailing comfrey belongs to the Boraginaceae family and is related to borage and forget-me-nots. It originates from Russia and Georgia but is widely spread and cultivated in Western Europe. Although it can tolerate competition from other plant roots and a wide range of soils (from slightly acidic to limestone), this comfrey prefers rich and moist soils. It is a fast-growing perennial herbaceous, evergreen plant that spreads laterally through its suckering roots. From the roots, tightly packed stems with dark green, rough-textured, ovate and pointed leaves with purple veins emerge. Flowering occurs in April-May, at the tips of purple stems that can reach a height of 25-30 cm (10-12in). Symphytum grandiflorum has tubular, nectar-rich, cream-white flowers marked with brown and orange, carried in pendulous clusters.

Vigorous, trailing comfrey can form large colonies in woodlands or even in sunny areas, between bushes, on slopes... basically anywhere where you want the soil to be occupied without having to maintain it. It can even withstand summer drought if not too severe. When you've tried everything and nothing has worked, trailing comfrey is your answer. Use it to border a shaded pathway, the base of trees and shrubs, or the neglected corner of the garden threatened by ivy and brambles... It can be paired with Trachystemon orientalis, European wild ginger, or lesser periwinkle Vinca minor...

Uses of trailing comfrey:

It is a nectar-producing plant that also improves soil structure. It can be steeped in cold water to make liquid fertiliser, a spring tonic. The decoction (boiling the leaves for a few minutes and then allowing it to cool) is used as an insecticide. The prunings of trailing comfrey can be used as mulch around other plants and incorporated into compost, enriching it with nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus, calcium, copper, iron, and magnesium. It can tolerate occasional trampling and makes an excellent ground cover to suppress weeds. It is also a great plant for biodiversity, loved by bees, lacewings, and spiders.