Achillea millefolium Cerise Queen

Achillea millefolium 'Cerise Queen' is a tasty and colourful variety of yarrow, appreciated in the garden for its light but vigorous habit and its clusters of bright cherry pink flowers punctuated with small white centres. They bloom throughout the summer, above the plant's feathery and aromatic foliage, which is a beautiful dark green with a touch of grey and particularly abundant. This garden staple brings a lot of vivacity to casual flower beds and homemade bouquets. An easy perennial to grow in all regions.

Yarrow is a perennial stoloniferous plant native to Europe and Asia Minor. It forms a rounded and light clump starting in spring. It belongs to the aster family. 'Cerise Queen' is a very robust variety that reaches 60 cm (24in) in height when in flower, 10 to 20 cm (4 to 8in) for the foliage. It spreads over 50 cm (20in) or more. The inflorescence is a slightly rounded and flattened corymb, 10 cm (4in) in diameter. The remarkably long flowering period spans from June to October. The flowers are actually heads, with the central disc florets tubular and white-cream, while the peripheral florets are ligulate and purplish-pink when in bloom, before turning a brighter pink shade. The overall impression is one of vivacity. The stem is channelled and villous, and the foliage, aromatic, is finely cut into strips, feathery, and of a dark green-grey, matte colour. 'Cerise Queen' yarrow spreads along the surface of the soil through stolons, allowing it to colonize large areas.

This hardy and undemanding perennial will fit well in a rock garden, on top of a wall, as a border, or on a slope where it will help prevent erosion. With its stolons, it can be used as a ground cover over large areas. This eliminates the need for mowing a lawn and replaces it in low-traffic areas. It can withstand competition from tree roots. As it is easy to grow and tolerates drought well, it is perfect for dressing the base of shrub roses or bordering a sunny flower bed. Its flowers, which can be picked before they fully open, are ideal for making bouquets.

As a medicinal perennial, yarrow has healing, hemostatic, antispasmodic, and tonic properties. Its young shoots can be used in omelettes or salads.