What is it?
Achilleas are pollinator-friendly border fillers, equally at home in a cottage garden with roses and lupins or in a modern prairie-style bed with feathery grasses. Usually billed as short-lived perennials, they may need replacing every few years, but are easy to grow from seed.
Any good varieties?
Achilleas flower all summer and come in an array of shades, brash and pastel: from pink (‘Lilac Beauty’ or ‘Cerise Queen’) and red (‘Red Velvet’ or ‘Summerwine’) to orange (‘Terracotta’ or ‘Walther Funcke’) and yellow (lemony ‘Credo’ or brighter ‘Moonshine’). If you’re an aficionado of white gardens, or just want something you can still see at dusk, grow A. ptarmica ‘The Pearl’ with its sprays of double flowers. Or try the native yarrow, A. millefolium.
Plant it with?
The yellow forms look fabulous against the bright blues of perovskias or echinops; silvery-leaved plants such as lamb’s ears (Stachys byzantina), artemisias and lavenders work with any variety.
And where?
Achilleas generally need well-drained soil in a sunny spot. Drought resistant once settled.
Any drawbacks?
Most varieties have a tendency to fade, and the feathery foliage is toxic to dogs, so avoid if your pet chews through your borders.
What else can it do?
Achilleas make great cut flowers, or dried displays.
