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Photo Credit: Maureen Gilmer

While yarrow’s hot-colored hybrids work well in dryland settings, the softer pink varieties add romance to cottage gardens and perennial borders.

It helps the blood to clot quickly in a fresh wound. Myths say it was named for the mythological general Achilles, given the herb by the gods to help his fallen soldiers live to fight another day. The Romans carried it with their legions. No Medieval monastery or colonial American garden would be without this essential. What is this wonder plant?

It’s yarrow (Achillea sp.)!

To most American gardeners, this plant is known for its naturally dried flowers called “everlastings.” Combined with strawflower and statice, yarrow is the third member of the dried flower arranger’s triad. This cutflower’s beauty, its medicinal value as an Old World Band-Aid® plus its rugged constitution make yarrow indispensable to household gardens.

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Photo Credit: Maureen Gilmer

Bright red Achillea millefolium ‘Paprika’ stands out in a mass of yellow hybrids for a lovely two-tone effect.

Today the single species, A. millefolium (also known as milfoil), is the most widely grown. Not only is it naturally drought-resistant due to its Mediterranean origins, milfoil is a naturally low-growing plant that spreads by underground stems into patches. Flowers rise up on stiff stems in spring and bloom for weeks into summer. When cut at the peak of color (before they fade), the everlastings make easy-to-dry flowers for fall or winter decorating.