Anya's Garden Perfumes + The Natural Perfumery Institute

  Is This the Longest Comfrey Root, or What? by  Anya McCoy  |  Jul 18, 2014  |  Anya's Garden Perfumes ,  Herbalism  |  3 comments I planted a tiny root cutting of comfrey (Symphytum officinale) in 1994, in a prime spot in my front garden. I love this plant so much. I first read about it in Jeanne Rose’s  Herbs and Things  book twenty years before. Comfrey has recently been a conversational subject that has connected me with the South Florida herbal community, with a foodie/herbal friend who is writing a book on culinary and healing herbs, and today, maybe a fun fact. Is the root that my apprentice Paula Diaz harvested for me the longest darn comfrey root ever?! Click the image below, if needed, for viewing details. One site says that the roots can go down ten feet, another says lateral roots can grow to three feet. Confirmed? Or just info copied from books and repeated. Does anyone have any proof with photos? I spent a lot of time...

 Originally posted May 12, 2013 Happy Mother’s Day, everyone!  I offer that greeting to all females, because we are blessed with the mothering ‘gene’ from the earliest age, so I honor every female on this day.  Today I’m going a little off-topic, and honoring a plant that I regard as the most mothering, comforting, healing plant: comfrey, aka Symphytum officinale in the botanical world.  Please feel free to ask your perfumery questions, that’s the purpose of this forum, and I’d love you to take you on a little side trip to my other love, herbalism (and aromatherapy, too). Click to enlarge: A comfrey salve recipe from  http://valwebb.wordpress.com/2007/09/09/garden-journal-comfrey/  I started to reconnect with comfrey and my decades of herbal study a few weeks ago when I attended a comfrey salve workshop at the local urban farm Earth N Us given by Julia Onnie-Hay of Bless Botanicals.  I went home with a jar of salve we made that day, and it came in hand...

Thanksgiving always is the day when I give thanks for living in the subtropics because the weather has cooled down from steam bath to cool and breezy. It's also the real beginning of our growing season. This year I regret not getting tomatoes or veggies in the ground yet because I've been so busy, but my herbs are always booming at this time of year and ready to go into the holiday dishes. I harvested bay leaf, sweet marjoram, oregano, lemon balm and lemongrass today, and I just love the slight fragrance they leave on my fingers throughout the day. The meal is in various stages of preparation, and I'm feeling very relaxed, fulfilled and happy. What more could you ask for on a Thanksgiving day? I'm thankful for everything in my life, it's all wonderful and prosperous. I'm especially thankful for natural perfumery, because the gorgeous botanical essences compliment a meal, and a gathering of people because of their understated scent - you won't have to "s...