If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

Yarrow is one of my favorite plants. It is considered a weed by many but has many herbal, crafting and flower uses.

I plant yarrow in my wildflower and perennial beds. Yarrow is a perennial hardy up to zone 3. Once established it will return year after year with little care needed. It has soft, frilly green foliage and groups of delicate white flowers make it similar to baby’s breath.

I dry yarrow and use it in artwork and in dried arrangements. What is particularly useful with yarrow is that once it is dried you can spray the flower heads different colors, which makes it very useful in flower arrangements or glued to wreaths. Yarrow comes in other pastel colors if you buy plants or seeds from a nursery. I myself just use that I have foraged and moved from the property.

Yarrow also attracts needed insects to your garden. Lady beetles and predatory wasps swarm to yarrow. These insects are not harmful to garden plants and eat other insects, which can be harmful to your garden. Yarrow also attracts butterflies to your garden.

Medicinal uses

Make a medicinal herbal infusion with yarrow to treat a variety of ailments. Yarrow contains many oils and alkaloids including linalool, camphor, salicylic acid, azulene and tannins useful for both internal and external medicinal application. Make the infusion by placing a handful of fresh yarrow flowers or foliage in a pint of boiling water. Boil for 30 minutes.
Drink a cup of the infusion to help reduce fevers and relieve pain. The salicylic acids in yarrow are similar to the active ingredients in aspirin and work as natural pain relievers and fever reducers.

Let the infusion cool and soak a rag in the liquid for external use. Apply the rag to wounds to prevent inflammation or to already inflamed areas to reduce swelling. The azuliene in yarrow is an anti-inflammatory.

NOTE: Always use care when using any herb. You may have an allergy to the plant or it may affect medicine that you take. Do research and ask questions.

Yarrow has been grown in my gardens for over 10 years and will continue to be an important “must have” plant.

Tags: yarrow, uses for yarrow, one mighty useful weed, yarrow for crafting, dried flowers

At a greenhouse auction I attended last night I picked up a large  flat of mixed perennials. Four of the containers had Bugleweed plants. I have heard this perennial flower/groundcover can be invasive so I wanted to find out more information on it.

The plants grow along the ground, forming a mat that can keep weeds from making headway. Some people even use is as more of a grass in hard to maintain areas as it will choke out all weeds. They have a rounded leaf and bloom in May and June with irregular flowers in spiked clusters.

They grow in ordinary, well-drained garden soil, with full sun or partial shade. They are considered easy to take care of. In areas with mild winters or under a good snow cover, they are evergreen.

Bugleweed is excellent as ground cover and make a stunning edging at the front of a border as they emphasis the other flowers colors. They are perfect for tumbling over rock edges and if you add another ground cover with color this makes a great statement. If you use these as a ground covers place the plants 10 inches apart. They will quickly fill an area.

These plants do grow quickly but are easily uprooted so can be weeded down or moved to other areas. Many consider this plant invasive but with a little care it can be easily maintained. If you want to propegate the plant do so in the spring or fall.

There are two varieties available. Ajuga pyramidalis which bears brilliant blue flowers on 6-inch spikes and will stay bushy. It does not spread as widely as other varieties. In the fall, the leaves turn to purple-bronze. Ajuga reptans is the ground cover that spreads more rapidly.

Bugleweed related varieties: Metallica Crispa has purplish-brown leaves with crisped edges, and Alba bears white flowers. Burgundy Glow bears blue flowers with leaves in three colors: new growth is burgundy-red, but as the leaves age, they become creamy white and dark pink. Rosea has rose flowers.

Bugleweed does have several herbal uses but as with any plant that can be used herbally, it’s best to research the plants uses thoroughly.

I will watch this ground cover carefully to see how invasive it is. As with most plants that tend to be invasive a little care can usually control them. If not, they are not in my gardens.

Tags: Bugleweed, perennial flower, perennial used as ground cover, perennial with herbal uses

Growing herbs in containers are fast and colorful. You can also place herb containers on your porch within easy reach of the kitchen for adding fresh herbs to your meals.  I grow around 40 herbs that are used for spices and 25 that are used for medicinal uses. Many of these can also be used for crafting and art.

The following You Tube video will show you how to set up a container herb garden in a matter of minutes. Herbs have so many uses and are also colorful and mix in well with vegetable and flower garden plants.

Tags: herb container gardening, fast and easy herb garden, you tube herb garden video