Achillea ageratum (English Mace)

A culinary herb for the garden border or a patio pot. It is a hardy perennial with serrated aromatic leaves and pretty cream flowers in clusters throughout the summer and into autumn. 

Can be used in many dishes, such as soups, rice, pasta or salads. 

A good plant to grow for pollinators and other native insects.

The flowers work well in dried arrangements.

The yarrow family has been valued as garden plants for centuries and are useful for their wide range of colour and long flowering season. Most are excellent for cutting and drying and all are loved by bees and butterflies. It is also a staple of wildflower meadows and plantings. Over the centuries, yarrow has been used to make snuff and in the Middle Ages, combined to form Gruit, a mixture of yarrow and other herbs to flavour beers before the use of hops.

This is a wildflower but there is some debate as to whether it is native to Britain, or simply naturalised over hundreds of years.

Height & Spread: 45cm x 30cm

Common name(s): Sweet yarrow; Sweet-Nancy; English mace; Sweet maudlin.

Not to be confused with the spice called mace, which is the outer husk of the nutmeg.

 Photo 2 courtesy of The Hardy Plant Society