White Yarrow (Achilled millefolium) has become one of my most cherished life partners as their potent medicine saved me from hours of pain and bloody hell. My klutzy knife skills in the kitchen together with clumsy eye-hand coordination with garden clippers due (ophthalmologist says I have ZERO depth perception) means I frequently clip or chop my fingers while gardening or cooking. Before Yarrow adopted me, several times a year I suffered long hours of throbbing pain, sent a good amount of my red blood cells down the drain, and lost precious hours from my most cherished activities: cooking and gardening. Now I just take two steps into my patio garden and humbly ask my lovely friend Milenrama help. I pop 2 or three short stems in my mouth to make a spit poultice, stuff into or lay it over the cut and in less than 60 seconds the throbbing pain stops, blood vessels close down, bleeding stops, and after a few minutes to regain composure and patch up the wound I can resume my activity in the kitchen or in the garden.
GROWING YARROW: I invite you to welcome White Yarrow, aka milenrama (Spanish) into your garden. This perennial drought tolerant low growing herb is native to North America and in its natural environment is found mostly in meadows and recently disturbed soils. In your garden, yarrow will grow well in almost any soil type, except too moist/wet areas. They prefer full sun exposure but does well in partial or full shade. Once established, Yarrow will be happy with light watering once a week in summer. They spread via rhizomes, therefore some would consider them “invasive,” though I welcome their prolific growth and deep roots that help prevent erosion, qualities that make her a wonderful ground cover choice.
GARDEN BENEFITS: Yarrow is an excellent plant buddy in your vegetable garden because it attracts beneficial insects that eat garden pests. Yarrow flower nectar and unique flat shape of the umbrella shaped blossoms will attract big-eyed bugs, brown lacewings, green lace wings, hover flies, lady bugs, predatory wasps and syrphid flies. These tiny lil 6-legged creatures will significantly reduce the presence of aphids, cucumber beetles, the eggs of cabbage moth caterpillar and more.
Yarrow is Good Medicine all around, benefitting human health, soil health, and biodiversity in the garden. MORE Yarrow stories to come on my blog next month.
