I'm not quite sure. Most likely Comfrey but it resembles a few things. It definitely isn't a Primrose (Primula).

Comfrey is much more likely to have arrived as a piece of root than a seed. It could easily have been deliberately planted by the OP if she wasn't familiar with it. It's a handsome plant and many people grow it as a source of organic fertiliser. Pollinators love it. If you have the space it is not a 'horrible weed'. But in a neat bed it can become a thug.

If it is Comfrey....

FloralukUK, it looks like you could be right. I remember some plants in a group off to themselves planted a few feet from a river bordering my friend's yard. There were some attractive blue flowering plants there. I am trying to remember if this plant was a cutting I took from that bunch. It is entirely possible that it is. Thanks for your keen I.D.

Ken, you made me laugh, which was much needed. During the bad storms yesterday, I had a diabetic sugar low which caused me to stagger around until I could get some glucose-containing fruit into me, I then had to cancel my cat's grooming appointment, I lost power for 3 hours due to the storms, and then a piece of my roof's eave tore off and landed in the yard. Yesterday was not a day to buy a lottery ticket!

The location by a river and the blue flowers reinforce the Comfrey id.

I have emailed the friend who has the vast garden and sent her the picture of the plant, asking if it's comfrey. Somehow that sounds familiar.

Ken, you DID neglect to tell me to nuke the fuzzy--leafed plant from space, as the only way to be sure!!

And here I'm trying to get comfrey to germinate and can't...

Be careful what you wish for. But if you're determined, see if you can get a bit of root from someone.

what's so bad about comfrey?

It's great in the right place, which is in a wild area where you don't want to grow anything else. But it spreads fast and every bit of root left in the soil produces a vigorous new plant.

It was recommended to underplant fruit trees with it in the holistic orcharding book I have, which is where I got the idea of it. Maybe I should re-think that idea. The seeds haven't germinated yet, so...

It has deep roots which bring up minerals but afaik merely growing it doesn't enrich the soil. It needs to be cut and either left on the surface as a mulch, turned into liquid fertiliser or composted. The type usually recommended for organic gardening is Bocking 14 which is sterile so you can't buy seeds.

In an orchard I can't see it performing any specific function by simply growing, apart from attracting pollinators and conserving the soil. You'd need to regularly harvest it for use as above for it to make any difference to the trees' nutrition.

Btw Comfrey liquid absolutely stinks. Don't brew it near the house!🤢

^^ Good to know, thanks for the info.

If it is comfrey, don't put it in a garden bed. It infiltrates everything. I'm helping a friend dig it out of her garden, given to her by a well meaning friend who had LOTS of it. You will probably never get rid of it. Every little root left behind will be a plant.

@porkchop_z5b_MI, About five years ago, my husband put in apple trees and I must have read tbe same info as you because I planted comfrey under them, BUT… I purchased root cuttings for the sterile Bocking-14 variety from Etsy. It was easy to start from the cuttings and it has persisted without really spreading at all. I recently dug one out for a friend. I have very loose sandy soil so I was able to pull the entire root which was longer than my arm from shoulder to finger tip. Given how long the root is and how easily it grows from and piece of root, I can see why @ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5 hates it, but it has been an easy sbd carefree tree companion for me.

Gosh, I do miss Ken. He always made me smile/laugh.

Me,too. I still throw my hostas in the driveway before transpanting them, as he instructed.