Lady Yarrow is a valuable medicinal plant to grow in your native gardens. Yarrow has moved around in my garden, at her own pace and where she feels she can sprawl a little more over the years. She likes dry, chalky soil and heat, and is found in the meadows and rocky hillsides of our Canadian shield. I notice the yarrow is doing rather well this year despite all the rain. Her new growth in the late Spring fans out like a squirrel's tail, and later the sturdy stalks rise up to give blooms to a cluster of many-petaled flowers which lasts throughout the summer. Yellow and pink versions of yarrow are more decorative; however, the white yarrow is the most medicinal of the three. Yarrow has been found, along with chamomile, in ancient burial sites of the great Persian sages dating back to 270 AD. In China, sturdy yarrow stalks were used as divining sticks. “Yarrow Achillea” is named after the great Greek warrior Achilles, who discovered that yarrow stopped the bleeding of his soldiers wounds while at war. Chewed upon and stuffed into a fresh wound of some depth, yarrow will staunch the bleeding quickly. Yarrow was also of great service to the carpenter or woodsman of old, and a sprig of yarrow placed in their tool box was a talisman for protection and for keeping out of harm's way. Yarrow is considered a plant ruled by Venus; for that reason, myths also said that when we place yarrow at our doorstep or under our bed, love doth come. Medicinally, yarrow has a complex and diverse array of more than 40 chemical constituents that make it a rather complex and versatile plant. Yarrow works particularly well for young women who struggle with irregular menstrual cycles or for people who experience nosebleeds. Yarrow can drop the temperature of a spiked fever if taken in due time, it may end a pregnancy, and it will address a urinary tract infection readily. Yarrow is also considered a gentle, long-term remedy for the liver. One does not use yarrow as a dried herb so much as in a tincture. As a dried herb, yarrow is bitter. Combined with other herbs, as in Michael Tierra's blend for the flu, yarrow leaves and flowers, echinacea root & elder flower work well together. A yarrow tincture combined with water and oil works well to deter mosquitoes. Susun Weed specifies the use of Yarrow as a blood mover internally, and it stops blood externally. Yarrow works particularly well for people with varicose veins and circulation concerns. Do note: Yarrow does reduce blood pressure. Harvest the yarrow stalk and blooms after they have just opened to dry or to make as a tincture, or as a delicious vinegar. Yarrow is a highly effective remedy when the situation calls for it. OM