Moonshine Achillea

It may have been with us for a long time, but the Moonshine Achillea remains probably the most reliable, trouble-free perennial you can grow. It isn’t invasive and it doesn’t self-seed, but it sure brings a wonderful splash of color to those sunny spots in your garden. Paler yellow than wild yarrow, it’s soft, buttery flowers really do glow like a yellow moon, and look great month after month. The silvery-green foliage is ferny and attractive, forming a low clump, out of which rise 18-inch flower stems topped with flat heads of many tiny flowers. They last and last all summer long, and even look attractive in fall when they turn brown. A great plant for rocky slopes, retaining walls and mixing with other summer perennials, it’s a natural in wild gardens and meadows too, especially since the parent plant is native to America. Cut some stems while they are young and hang them upside down in the shade to dry – they hold the color and look great in a vase in winter.

• Big flat heads of butter-yellow flowers
• Soft, ferny, silver-green foliage
• Aromatic smell to the whole plant
• Attractive to butterflies and other pollinators
• Very drought-resistant and great in dry places

Grow the Moonshine Achillea in full sun in well-drained soils. It actually grows better in poor soil, as rich soils make it soft and floppy. Loves sandy, rocky ground and alkaline soils too. Left alone by pests, diseases and deer, so it will survive in a wild garden well. If you cut off the first flower heads as they fade the stems will send out more as side-shoots. Once a stem has stopped producing, cut it back to the ground. In fall cut everything down to an inch or two. Doesn’t spread by seeding, but can be divided after a few years of growth.