Bitter buttons

This is the tansy plant (colloquial name bitter buttons), a perennial herb used for medicinal purposes in the past, as an insect repellent and for all sorts of digestive problems, sores and fevers. Irish folklore even points to its use as a skin purifier. I'm pleased to report that most of this information has been discredited by modern pharmacology. However, in my garden - which has a subterranean ant population (like all Australian gardens!) there is not one sign of ants anywhere near this plant! So maybe some of that ancient lore is true! And I like the flowers, they had a beautiful splash of autumn colour to the edge of my herb garden!