Herbs have a reputation for being mostly green, but you'll love yarrow (Achillea millefolium) for its gorgeous gold blooms, like small suns shining above the leaves. (There are white and pastels varieties, as well. Butterflies find them all irresistable.) Yarrow's generic name, Achillea, is a clue to one of its many uses: Achilles is said to have used it to stanch the bleeding wounds of his soldiers, and 17th century herbalist John Parkinson reported that "if it be put into the nose, assuredly it will stop the bleeding of it." It will, too, because the plant contains chemicals that cause the blood to coagulate. Other chemicals help to relieve pain and inflammation and prevent infection. No wonder that botanical researcher Steven Foster calls yarrow "an herbal Band-Aid." (All this and butterflies too!)