St. Hildegard likely spent many hours of her life working in the monastery infirmary – first at the male Benedictine Monastery at Disibodenberg where she was tithed as a child, and then at her own Benedictine Monastery that she founded at Rupertsberg. Many of the remedies included in Physica and Causes and Cures were likely used in the monastery infirmaries.

Schafgarbe (pictured on the garden stone) is the German word for yarrow. This stone is not from the Hildegard Haus but exists in a German Hildegarden along the Hildegard Way.  The photo was taken in 2019 by Rev. Shanon Sterringer as she walked the 85 mile Hildegard Way pilgrimage organized by the Scivias Institute.

In Physica, Hildegard recommended yarrow for wound care, both topically as a compress and internally taken as a tea or steeped in warm wine.  In Causes and Cures, she recommended yarrow for insomnia, when combined with fennel and sage. She recorded that the heat of the yarrow would help to stabilize one’s sleep.

Here at the Hildegard Haus, we have two yarrow plants growing. In the front herb gardens (directly behind our shepherdess statue) there is a yellow hybrid yarrow plant and in the back of the church property (on the corner directly behind the outside sanctuary wall) there is a white wild yarrow plant. The wild yarrow is more often used for medicinal purposes. The yellow yarrow is to be admired for brightening our garden with its aesthetic beauty.

Yarrow is considered a “bitter” herb and would be an herb to consider adding to your recipe if you are making your own homemade digestive bitters.