Yarrow\u2014Achillea–a plant cultivated in gardens for a very long time, has garnered a host of nicknames, some of which are worthy of Harry Potter.\u00a0 Among the more colorful monikers are soldier\u2019s woundwort, herbe militaris, bloodwort, nose bleed, devil\u2019s nettle, old-man\u2019s-pepper and\u2014my favorite–stenchgrass.\u00a0 Combine those bloody nicknames with the fact that Linnaeus, in the midst of christening all kinds of plants in the eighteenth century, chose to honor the great Greek warrior, Achilles, by giving his name to a seemingly innocent member of the daisy family, and it adds up to a mystery.\u00a0 What did yarrow do to deserve its bloody reputation?\u00a0 Is it the secret weapon of Mossad, MI5 or some other clandestine group?\u00a0 Has anyone brought it to the attention of the U.S. CIA, NSA, FBI or Homeland Security?<\/p>\n
Certainly the plants do not look especially threatening.\u00a0 The most commonly cultivated yarrow species, varieties and hybrids grow between ten and twenty-four inches tall.\u00a0 Individual plants are not very wide, but can form attractive clumps up to a foot or more in width.\u00a0 The aromatic foliage is either green or gray-green and deeply dissected, with a fern-like appearance. I would not characterize the leave\u2019s fragrance as a \u201cstench\u201d, but every nose is different. Some noses may respond to yarrow\u2019s distinctive pungent aroma by sneezing, hence the common name \u201csneezewort\u201d.<\/p>\n
One thing is clear\u2026yarrow is an effective ornamental tool in the war on garden terrorists like deer, rabbits, groundhogs and other creatures.\u00a0 The varmints avoid the plants, most likely because the purported stench is more apparent to them.<\/p>\n
At about this time\u2014earliest summer\u2014yarrows begin to command the spotlight, along with many of their daisy or Compositae family relatives.\u00a0 In the most common garden varieties, the sturdy stems are topped by cymes or flattened flower clusters composed of scores of tiny daisies.\u00a0 The range of colors runs from white, through yellows, peach, orange and red, with some purple shades thrown in. Planted in masses, the flowerheads seem to meld together in a rather impressionistic display.<\/p>\n
Another valuable yarrow species is Achillea ptarmica, which does not boast the familiar flowerheads, but is a dead ringer for the harder-to-grow baby\u2019s breath, with dainty, double-petaled white flowers and the aromatic foliage that characterizes the genus.\u00a0 \u2018The Pearl\u2019 is probably the most popular ptarmica variety and it is ethereal in its beauty.\u00a0 The Latin root \u201cptarmicus\u201d means \u201ccausing sneezing\u201d, which reinforces the common name.<\/p>\n
Yarrow is a tough customer; once it is established it can withstand drought, lean soil, neglect and winter road salt.\u00a0 The only thing it rebels against is too much moisture, which encourages fungal diseases.\u00a0 If you have a sunny, dry spot in your garden or elsewhere, plant yarrow.\u00a0 By cutting back the faded flowerheads, you can often ensure yourself a second flush of bloom later in the growing season.\u00a0 Since those same flowerheads make excellent dried subjects, cutting them, with stems attached, is a win-win for the garden and indoor d\u00e9cor.<\/p>\n
But back to the bloody reputation\u2026.It turns out that yarrow is a healer, rather than a fighter, and poultices of the leaves are traditionally used to stanch bleeding.\u00a0 The great Achilles knew this, according to legend, using the herb to treat his soldiers\u2019 wounds back in the days of the Trojan Wars.\u00a0 The leaves can also be combined with other ingredients and made into an ointment that is supposedly useful for bleeding.<\/p>\n
If you find modern remedies are more efficacious for wound treatment, you can still use the yarrow stems for divination, especially if you subscribe to the Chinese I-Ching method.\u00a0 Those who find the I-Ching too complicated can content themselves with rubbing yarrow on their eyelids to enhance psychic abilities.\u00a0 Either way, these alleged properties may make yarrow more popular in contentious election years.<\/p>\n
Most garden yarrows are selections or hybrids of a few species, including Achillea millefolium, Achillea fillipendulina and Achillea clypeolata.\u00a0 \u2018Moonshine\u2019, bred by noted British plantsman Alan Bloom, is one such hybrid, with bright yellow flowers, blue-gray foliage and a free-blooming habit.\u00a0 I also like \u2018Terra Cotta\u2019, with similar grayish foliage and peachy flowerheads that age to the terra cotta shade suggested by the name.<\/p>\n
Yarrows work in beds, borders or containers and are generally available in garden centers.\u00a0 Mail order nurseries sometimes feature a more comprehensive selection and most carry at least a few.<\/p>\n
So, whether you xeriscape, attempt to deter varmints, cultivate herbs or simply want a tough, good-looking perennial for the garden, emulate Achilles, Vita Sackville-West and the mid-twentieth century herb pundit, Mrs. Grieve.\u00a0 Go out and get yourself some yarrow.<\/p>\n
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Yarrow\u2014Achillea–a plant cultivated in gardens for a very long time, has garnered a host of nicknames, some of which are worthy of Harry Potter.\u00a0 Among the more colorful monikers are soldier\u2019s woundwort, herbe militaris, bloodwort, nose bleed, devil\u2019s nettle, old-man\u2019s-pepper and\u2014my favorite–stenchgrass.\u00a0 Combine those bloody nicknames with the fact that Linnaeus, in the midst of … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,2,3],"tags":[1427,1430,970,257,1429,222,1426,1081,1428],"class_list":["post-1905","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fall","category-general-interest","category-spring","category-summer","tag-achillea","tag-compositae","tag-daisy-family","tag-deer-resistant-plants","tag-drought-tolerant-plants","tag-herbs","tag-sneezewort","tag-useful-plants","tag-yarrow"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1905","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1905"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1905\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1906,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1905\/revisions\/1906"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1905"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1905"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1905"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}