Gardening in Cary: Yarrow

Story by Hal Goodtree | May 13, 2010 | Tags: Events, Friends of Page Walker, gardening, Herbfest, Page-Walker Arts and History Center

Stand of Yarrow outside Page-Walker. Photos by Hal Goodtree.

Cary, North Carolina – We’ve received quite a few emails about our new gardening column. Basically, we cover what’s looking good in the ground this week. Over time, our goal is to create a complete picture of the gardening cycle in Cary.

Right now, our gardens are making a (somewhat hasty) transition from spring to summer plants. The recent hot, dry weather has accelerated this process. My pansies are still looking good, but their days are numbered. Rosemary is growing like crazy and the lavender is setting up to bloom.

A Most Vigorous Plant

The most striking thing I saw this week was a stand of yarrow (Achillea millefolium) in front of the Page-Walker Center.  Flat, bright, yellow flowers topped strong 2-3 foot stalks with deeply cut, feathery leaves. Yarrow has a weedy look, but many fancy varieties have been isolated by breeders.

My experience is that yarrow is a vigorous plant. That’s what they say in garden catalogs when the plant tends to grow like crazy and choke out everything else in bed. I pulled mine out two years ago. Still pulling it out today. It likes to hide and won’t give up. Vigorous, indeed.

But yarrow makes a fine display and is useful and decorative in its own bed or a container. From Botanical.com:

Legend tells us it is the same plant with which Achilles stanched the bleeding wounds of his soldiers, hence the name of the genus, Achillea. In Sweden it is called ‘Field Hop’ and has been used in the manufacture of beer. Linnaeus considered beer thus brewed more intoxicating than when hops were used.

Starlings use yarrow to line their nests. It’s happy in poor soil and is drought tolerant. It can be useful to control erosion.

Check it Out at Herbfest

Go see what I’m talking about this weekend at the first ever Friends of Page-Walker Herbfest, Saturday May 15 from 9AM to 2 PM at Page-Walker. Free event.

The gardens look fantastic and the weather promises to be mild.

Taken last week in the garden behind the Page-Walker Center. Lamb's Ears (Stachys) crowd the bottom of the frame. Frank Page's smokehouse is in the background.