Latest Health News

BENEFIT OF YARROW FOR GARDENER

For the gardener, yarrow pairs off with comfrey as a compost activator. In the chapter on Soil Fertility, I have mentioned the homoeopathic dose of yarrow for the compost heap. It is a natural vegetable activator that can halve the time taken for a bin of decomposing bits and pieces to become rich black compost. One or two of the tiny leaves, snipped small and mixed well through, can “send off” between one and two cubic yards of compost. The staggering chemistry involved in this process alone should give us great respect for yarrow.

Yarrow is beloved by homoeopathic physicians. A fresh leaf of yarrow pressed high up into the nasal passage can cause a nose-bleed and thus relieve the pressure of some types of migraine. A homoeopathic dose of yarrow can staunch a nosebleed. Let a qualified homoeopath deal with these processes; they can be tricky if not properly understood.

The plant itself is a showy thousand-leaved tufted clump, throwing up flowering stems in spring and sometimes right through the summer, bearing Schiaparelli-pink heads of tiny daisy-like blossoms. There is a white variety, too, the pink being a “sport” from this pastureland and meadow kind. Hill, an old English herbalist, says “When accidents of growth give a blush of red to the flower, it would be thought, if found in America, a glorious acquisition to our gardens.” Because it grows like a weed in Europe and Britain is no reason to exclude it from a flower garden. I find its spring and summer appearance most attractive, and in autumn and even winter new suckers spread out from the base of the clump and can be potted or planted elsewhere.

Yarrow is seldom troubled by insect pests, although the occasional grasshopper or snail may in desperation try a few of the young leaves if not much else is available.

There are several varieties suitable to grow in the herb garden. Achillea millefolium is the best medicinally, but there is also a small yellow-flowered kind, Achillea tomentosa, with greyish-green leaves in a miniature cushion, and Achillea magna with stiffer bigger leaves of a pale green, a most attractive plant.

Yarrow will enhance the flavour, strength and health of other herbs grown near it.

*153\181\8*

Random Posts

• AIDS\HIV INFECTION: TREATMENT
• THE MID-LIFE CRISIS: PAIN OF IMPACTED FEELINGS
• THE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM: PROSTATE
• SEX AND HEALTH: SOME THINGS THAT CAN GO WRONG FOR WOMEN- HAIRINESS AND MONTHLY CHECK-UP
• FERTILITY PROBLEMS: SEEKING MEDICAL HELP
• ANALYSIS OF THE FAMILY PLANNING CONSULTATION – PATIENT’S AGENDA (TALKING)
• TEACHING CHILDREN ABOUT SEX: QUESTIONS PARENTS ASK-ARE PETS ANY HELP? HOW USEFUL ARE BOOKS FOR CHILDREN?
• CONTRACEPTION: BARRIER METHODS
• THE MALE CRISIS: A SHARED PLIGHT
• INHIBITED SEXUAL AROUSAL