The flowers of the yarrow ‘Cassis’ (Achillea millefolium) offer a full range of cherry tones, and a few scattered berries can balance a very sweet dessert.

A few finely lacy millefeuilles are enough to break up the monotony of your daily sandwiches, but also that of your flowerbeds, offering a unique texture. Prefer its young, milder and more tender leaves, infused in omelets, aiding the digestion of fatty soups and casseroles, where their aroma replaces sage and rosemary. It can be used like hops in craft brews, helping to preserve beer, among other things.

Attractive to many beneficial insects while being repellent to harmful insects, it confuses their olfactory trails, limiting infestations. Deer and other animals leave it alone. Its use dates back to prehistoric times! It was one of the eight plants in the rudimentary pharmacy of Neanderthal men and women. It tolerates all kinds of neglect, being unaffected by drought or urban pollution, and blooming for a long time in poor or slightly acidic soil. A second bloom may follow if you harvest the flowers, which will prevent it from reseeding.

The ‘Cassis’ yarrow variety is less expansive than the wild species, which tends to spread quickly, but it remains an excellent groundcover that is easier to maintain. Divide the tillers after 3 to 5 years to maintain flowering vigor.