Yarrow

It’s the time of year when I decide what new plants I’m going to try next spring. And this year, among others, I’m experimenting with yarrow. Unlike many of our other experiments, I’m not in any doubt about whether or not it will work. Yarrow seems tailor made for our dry summers - it likes full sun, long days, and near drought conditions.

It also likes poor soil, which I think is a funny term, since a lot of the plants that we like best prefer it. I know that it just means nutrient-poor, but since lavender, rosemary and daylilies all like it, I’ve always smirked a little. In fact, we had a hard time growing lavender for a while, I believe because our soil was too well nourished.

That shouldn’t be a problem for the yarrow. It’s going on the side of our house in an area that can’t really be cultivated for much. Forrest spent the summer and fall ripping out ivy and some kind of thorny vine that had been taken over, and then building some basic beds to contain the plant matter in a hugelkultur set up. He laid half-rotting logs, covered them with pruned branches, then finally, some topsoil. The hope is that over time those logs and branches will break down, but in the meantime, the location of the beds means whatever goes there pretty much has to fend for itself.

So, yarrow it is. I’m interested to see just how little time I can devote to it, given that the rest of the garden will be full of much greedier plants. There is something special about those plants that can look after themselves, like a cat that is happy enough to sit in the sun without constantly needing attention. We give so much adoration to the beautiful but difficult plants, don’t we? The roses that need to be perfectly pruned, the melons that must have gallons of water and hours of sun, the orchids that need special, well, everything. But I delight in the species that find a way. At the lettuce that will grow in the earliest, coldest months. At the garlic that will overwinter, ignoring frosts and rain alike. At the mint, which will take over the whole yard if we’re not careful.

They’re not the stars of the show, that’s for sure. No one is talking about their prize yarrow plants. Still, the sturdiness, resilience and sheer stubbornness of these plants is worth taking a second look at. I’m looking forward to spending a summer doing just that.