Achillea millefolium, Yarrow

Artist: Sarah Red-Laird

Title: Bee Habitat in Cyanotype 31

Location: Banyan Farm, Oregon

Project: Bee Friendly Banyan

Flower: Achillea millefolium, Yarrow

Bee(s) in cyanotype: Hylaeus, Yellow-faced bee; Ceratina, Small carpenter bee

Materials: Cyanotype, encaustic, ink, barnwood

Field Season: 2023

Composed: 2023

This flower was harvested from Bayan Farm, a BGO “Regenerative Bee Habitat” project partner.

Banyan Farm is a 20-acre certified organic farm located in Williams, Oregon. They practice sustainable and regenerative agricultural practices, including a polyculture design, crop rotation, and composting, all of which support overall biodiversity.

In addition to growing Ayurvedic herbs for Banyan Botanicals, the leading Ayurvedic lifestyle company in the US, they bring veggies to local farmers markets.

In 2022 the team brought BGO on as a partner to monitor bees on the farm. Our job is to provide Banyan with data on which bees pollinate their herbs, to help them know more about the bee community that Banyan Farm supports, and to help them to become (even more) bee friendly through utilizing fallow areas for regenerative bee pasture.

Learn more about, and support, Banyan Farm here, and Banyan Botanicals here.

Yarrow is so common and resilient, I’ve heard many folks say it’s a weed.  First of all – I don’t believe in weeds.  Second!  It’s a vastly important native flower that is a stellar host for not just bees, but a wide array of beneficial insects.  Propagate this one in your farm and garden to cut down on chemical pest control. 

Bees I’ve observed on this flower: Anthidium, Apis mellifera, Bombus, Ceratina, Halictus, Heriades, Hylaeus, Lasioglossum, Melissodes.   

Check out this link for a whole list of the Ayurvedic and medicinal uses of yarrow.