Mud, Homely Plant #2, Musical Swings

Mud.  Not just mud, but red clay mud,

 an adhesive mud that sticks like glue,

 so that your boots get heavier and heavier,
accumulating layer after layer. 

 Monday was beautiful, but the ground was still soaked 

from Sunday's rain, and low spots were pools of muddy water.
Soooo,
didn't get much done yesterday.

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Homely Plant # 2

Comfrey.

  I posted about it here, in 2009,
 in my lost to the tornado garden,

  at that time, I couldn't imagine not having any comfrey.  

 Or that I would have
such a difficult time finding it locally.  

Why do I love comfrey?  

Part of the reason
may actually have to do with the name--

so close to comfy;

 the plant has that homely
(in Tolkien's sense of the word) feel for me.
But my love for this plant also lies
 in the plant's benefits for the garden.

Comfrey mines nutrients from the soil (deep tap root) 

and is designated a dynamic accumulator, 

cycling nutrients through the soil.  

It can be used as green manure and as mulch.  

It will help heat up your compost pile,

 which was the main way I used it in the past.

Comfrey attracts bees and butterflies, good pollinators.

For thousands of years, comfrey has been used medicinally, 

and many people today swear by its properties 

as a poultice  for healing wounds.  

The plant is also knows as "knitbone" and "bruisewort."  

Comfrey contains Allantoin, 

a protein that promotes cell growth.  

While I love the fact that comfrey

has healing benefits,

I've never actually tried them.

On the other hand, this plant

is capable of healing the soil--
 as a mulch and by mining nutrients 

too deep for most plants to reach.

It can become invasive, 

and I ended up with much more comfrey 

by accident when I tried to move it.

The transplants were more than successful,

and the original plant grew back and prospered.
I can only wish that I had access now.
But now that I want it for a new garden...
may have to order online.

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via Green Renaissance - relax and enjoy these musical swings.