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Why growing yarrow is good for wellbeing

Often dismissed as an invasive weed, Achillea millefolium has been celebrated for millennia for its medicinal properties 

Growing wildly in parks and lawns, Achillea millefolium, or common yarrow, is a spreading

wildflower native to the UK. You’ll see it growing everywhere: it has narrow, aromatic, featherly leaves that are soft to the touch and intricately shaped. Flat heads of small white-cream or pink flowers appear in summer.

Because it proliferates easily in a wide range of conditions, this drought-resilient species is often dismissed as a weed. Yet its medicinal properties have earned it a reputation as a first-aid herb since ancient times and growing it in your garden could have great benefits for your wellbeing and the surrounding wildlife.

A first-aid herb

“Known in flower shows for its colours, the medicinally recognised yarrow is the white one, which grows wild,” explained João Afonso and David Congram, who co-designed the Ladywell Physic Garden at the 2026 RHS Sandringham Flower Show. The border was conceived as a herbal dispensary for health disorders linked to climate change and was relocated to Ladywell Fields in southeast London after the show.

João is a herbalist and the founder of Herbal Symbiosis, an herbal medicine clinic in Lewisham. David is a writer and professional gardener based in central London. They both believe there should be more education about yarrow and how to identify it in nature.

João Afonso and David Congram, designers of the Ladywell Physic Garden at the 2026 RHS Sandringham Flower Show
“Achillea millefolium is considered a first-aid herb because it can be used to treat a wide range of ailments, such as stomach acidity, upper respiratory tract infections and internal and external bleeding,” João said. “My teachers at the University of Westminster, where I studied Herbal Medicine, used to say that, when in doubt about what the problem might be, yarrow is a good starting point for a prescription.

“However, as an herbalist I work in collaboration with GPs to ensure I have the correct diagnosis for every patient, so I often encourage further investigation through blood tests, x-rays, physical examinations, MRIs or other exams available at a hospital. I try my best to address the root cause of an illness rather than simply treating its symptoms.”

A plant of poetry and war

A portrait of yarrow in A Curious Herbal by Elizabeth Blackwell, the first significant herbal to be produced by a British woman
“Achillea is very much a plant of poetry and war,” said João and David. “It takes its name from the Homeric poem Iliad, in which the Greek hero Achilles uses the herb to treat soldiers’ wounds. For centuries, the plant remained a vital part of a Roman soldier’s kit, and it was also a fixture of war hospitals internationally – all the way up to the First World War.”

The two garden designers explained that, at the time, the collection of yarrow was heavily driven by civic organisations in the UK, including the National Herb Growing Organisation and the Boy Scouts. Tens of thousands of rural children also volunteered with systematic collection depots dotted across the country.

“Their efforts in identifying, sustainable harvesting and drying yarrow, as well as other crucial plants – Digitalis and Amaryllis belladonna for anaesthesia, and Sphagnum palustre for absorbent, sterile wound dressings – led to tonnes of yarrow being sent to pharmaceutical processing hubs in London, where it was later distributed for medical kits and field hospitals at the front.”

Its common English names, from soldiers’ woundwort to nosebleed, also hold a place in its history of bloodshed and resilience.

“While yarrow is no longer part of formal military inventories, it is a brutal reality of today’s conflicts that it remains widely used by guerrilla forces. When conventional supply chains for standardised synthetic medicines fail, volunteer medics and civilians may turn to ethnobotanical triage. For example, yarrow grows prolifically throughout Ukraine, where it’s known as kryvavnyk – a word derived from the Slavic root ‘krov’, meaning ‘blood’. Instructions distributed through frontline survival channels detail how to identify wild kryvavnyk, grind the leaves and white flower clusters into a coarse paste, and apply it directly to open shrapnel lacerations and bullet grazes.”

A favourite among hoverflies

Achillea millefolium is a favourite among wildlife
Yarrow has become a favourite in wildlife gardens, loved by bees, butterflies and other pollinating insects. It’s particularly valuable for attracting one of the garden’s best natural pest controllers: hoverflys. These beautiful little insects need open or flat-topped flowers to access nectar and pollen, as they dab their mouthparts like a sponge and cannot typically reach into long or tubular flowers. The flat flowerheads of yarrow make the perfect landing pads for them.

A good choice for pots

As a vigorous spreader, yarrow can be a great choice for planters and pots
Beyond its medicinal properties, growing yarrow in your garden can be good for wellbeing because it’s a very rewarding experience. Even less experienced gardeners can grow it easily from seed, and if you choose cultivated varieties, you can enjoy flowers in a range of yellows, reds, rich pink and orange.

If you later collect your own seeds from these colourful varieties or they self-seed, the colours may not be retained in the seedlings, so if you want to preserve the colour, propagate your plants by division or cuttings instead.

Achillea is also a great choice for small spaces, as it thrives in pots. João and David said: “Achillea spreads by rhizomes, which are underground stems that extend from the main plant in all directions. This means that, when grown in pots, the plant will eventually spill over the edges as new shoots emerge in search of more space. So, if you’d like to grow yarrow in the ground but don’t want it to spread everywhere, you could first plant it in a pot and then place the pot in the ground, much like you would with mint.”

Achillea prefers free-draining soil and does best in full sun to partial shade.

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