Yarrow

Achillea millefolium

Plant family: Asteraceae

Yarrow in the Garden Ecosystem

This beautiful Central Texas perennial with fern-like, "million-leaved" fronds is a great plant to incorporate into the garden ecosystem. Yarrow serves a variety of functions in the landscape. It forms dense clumps that block weeds, holds moisture, protects the soil, and its strongly-scented foliage repels pests and makes it generally unappetizing to deer. It's also known to be a dynamic accumulator, drawing up minerals from deep in the soil and making them more readily available to the plants around it. And it shoots up beautiful flowers in the spring that attract a host of pollinators and beneficial insects.

Working with Yarrow for First Aid

Yarrow is an extremely helpful first aid plant. For immediate use topically, fresh yarrow leaves can be mashed into a poultice to stop bleeding, calm inflammation, keep infections at bay, and help with the healing of scrapes, cuts, and rashes. And yarrow's antiseptic and antimicrobial properties can help reduce the risk of infection.

Yarrow can also be infused fresh in water for a wound wash, in alcohol for a linament, dried and made into a wound powder, or dried and infused in oil. Our yarrow-infused oil is a main ingredient in the soothing salve that we make.

Harvesting Yarrow

The best time to harvest yarrow is when it is in full flower and all the energy is upward. While there are many colorful cultivars of yarrow that come in hues like yellow and red, the wild white yarrow that is naturally occuring in Central Texas is the one used medicinally.

Spiritually, yarrow is known as a protector plant - one that helps with setting healthy boundaries, buffering other people's energy, and supporting courage and confidence. We like including yarrow in our homegrown herb bundles and wreaths. We also like planting yarrow patches throughout the garden where this plant's protective, confident energy is needed.

We often have yarrow plants for sale, depending on the season. Here's how to get plants from us.

We'll also soon have a new offering that'll be a deep dive into yarrow and this plant's amazing attributes. If you'd like to get the notice when that's available, subscribe to our newsletter.