Here is an unusual combination of plants: Comfrey and Wild Banana! Today I paid another visit to Edible Landscapes [see last entry] and this time I stayed to do several hours volunteering. Very mild and sunny for November and blue sky overhead as I pottered around tending to some autumnal tasks.

 The garden has over two hundred species of plants with a purpose- mainly edibles but there are also medicinal plants, dye plants and "system plants" i.e. plants that contribute to a thriving ecosystem. Forest gardening seeks to layer plants in a way that corresponds to forest ecology but mixes and matches plants from all over the world to do so. 

 In that context the above pairing is not so surprising. Comfrey is frequently used by permaculturalists as a ground cover and the banana plant seems to be holding its own as a taller perennial. Having said that I assume it has been planted as an experiment. I doubt a banana plant would fruit outdoors in UK conditions?

 NB There are various entries in this diary concerning the work of Martin Crawford at the Agroforestry Research Trust in Devon. He has done a good deal of practical research to make use of species from warmer latitudes which are nonetheless hardy in our climate. Further to that he has built a remarkable forest garden greenhouse to grow sub-tropical species on a large scale. [see entry dated 7th. May 2019]