Achillea tomentosa

About this cultivar:

Achillea tomentosa, commonly known as woolly yarrow, is an evergreen, neat, mat-forming perennial that typically grows to 6-12 inches tall spreading bit wider. It is best known for its yellow flowers, fern-like foliage, fragrance and horizontally-spreading habit. Great for edges! It is native to Europe and western Asia. Leaves are aromatic (spicy!) when bruised. Flowers a long time. Specific epithet comes from Latin meaning having 'covered in hairs' or 'dense woolly hairs'. I'm really taking a stab at the hardiness. I suspect H7 but am being conservative with H5! Avoid too much moisture over winter.

• Position: Full sun, partial shade
• Soil: Almost any soil that is reasonably well drained. Prefers dry.
• Flowers: June, July, August
• Other features: Great Ground Cover
• Hardiness: H5 - Hardy in most places throughout the UK even in severe winters (-15 to -10°C)
• Habit: Mat forming
• Foliage: Semi evergreen
• Height: 15 to 30 cm  (0.5 - 1 ft)
• Spread: 15 to 60 cm  (0.5 - 2 ft)
• Time to full growth: 2 to 5 years
• Plant type: Herbaceous Perennial, Alpine or Rockery
• Colour: Yellow, green, grey
• Goes well with: Most grasses and prairie style plants, Deschampsia cespitosa 'Goldschleier', Salvia × sylvestris 'Mainacht', Salvia nemorosa 'Caradonna', Echinacea 'Tomato Soup', Echinacea purpurea 'Razzmatazz', Stipa tenuissima

About this genus:

Achillea, commonly called common yarrow, is a rhizomatous, spreading, upright to mat-forming perennial. Achillea is in reference to Achilles, hero of the Trojan Wars in Greek mythology, who used the plant medicinally to stop bleeding and to heal the wounds of his soldiers.

Often garden Achillea are members of the millefolium species. The specific epithet of millefolium means thousand-leaved in reference to the foliage being more intense than other Achillea. Achillea has a plethora of additional common names, including milfoil, thousandleaf, soldier’s woundwort, bloodwort, nose bleed, devil’s nettle, sanguinary, old-man’s-pepper and stenchgrass.

Yarrow ale was a popular choice for weddings because of its tendency to increase energy, act as an aphrodisiac and generally “make the guests crazy.” At Ballyrobert we use it solely for gardening purposes..... honestly.

There are many cultivars of Achillea in a variety of colours. It prefers to be grown in most soils that are reasonably well drained. Achillea is another versatile plant in the garden at Ballyrobert;  it looks great with all sorts of grasses and prairie style plants but the fern-like foliage and cow-parsley type flower heads also help it blend with some woodland or cottage style plants. When it dies back for the year Achillea dries out fully and gives great structure to the garden - it is often used for dry flowers and flower arranging.