Agrimony
Agrimonia eupatoria
Aaron's rod, Church steeples, Clot-bur, Sweethearts, Money-in-both-pockets,
Fairy's wand, Salt-and-pepper.
This is a hairy leaf perennial herb with tall slender spikes of golden yellow flowers in mid summer. It can be seen growing wild in grassy habitats and is great to grow in the garden near the base of hedges and the edges of wooded areas. It will establish and naturalise in lawns and wildflower areas.
This is a tolerant and easy to grow perennial herb which can be found in some parts of the country growing wild on verges, woodland edges and open grassland.
It is happy in most soils and can grow in light shade as well as full sun.
The leaves and stems are softly hairy, with serrated edges and a whitish underside. Later in the summer primrose yellow flowers open up the length of tall tapering spires – up to 80cm in height.
The flowers are followed by large rusty coloured burr-like seeds, these can cling to clothing, animal fur etc and act as a very efficient dispersal system.
This is not a culinary herb but has many medicinal uses due to its astringent qualities. In folklore it is said to represent gratitude.
Agrimony is an ideal plant for the wilder parts of the garden, near hedges and trees and in wildflower meadows. The copious seeds mean it will establish a colony in a suitable position. Otherwise trim down the seed heads once they ripen to prevent its spread.