Story of Yarrow

I had been terribly depressed about my blood clotting problem, as well as my circumstances in Guelph, so I went for an all or nothing approach and quit taking my prescription pharmaceuticals, replacng these with Yarrow and EPO.

I was extremely surprised to find that my blood clotting disorder diminished in a short time, and I was actually cured!!

I liked my herb wreath so much I took it with me when I moved to the Ottawa Valley after a new job.

In two more years I had moved from my townhouse to an apartment on the river. I still had my dried flowers. I planted the wreath that I had kept and hoped for the best ; I had very little money and wanted to plant something.

The first year I was disappointed to find two tiny feathery ferns about an inch high from the ground. But the next year I enjoyed the softest and most lovely Yarrow I had ever seen.

It had made many clumps over the winter and grew very beautifully in the enriched compost plus soil and hose-watering. The Yarrow you see in the fields is often very dry and continues to bloom even in sand, but it is half-sized and tough.

I picked my yarrow first for tea, when the stalks and leaves were young and tender and the blooms new. When it is fresh and new, placing it in a wash bucket of cold water extracts a lovely real lime scent- so the plant is at the time most mellow and exquisite.

Yarrow in Tea

I use dried Yarrow flowers in arrangements, and have also experimented with tea blends.

Since I gave these to a Doctors' extended scientific family, it would be rude to elaborate the teas blends, their having found what I believed about the herb blend to be functional medicinally, but a version of this is to be found in Companions / Recipes.

I have often bunched dried yarrow into a tea egg and use it for healthful flavouring in soups in the winter. Whether you know it or not, it is giving a tonic to your blood and digestion.