From the steppes of Eurasia to the open meadows of North America, Artemisia dracunculus has been traveling for millennia. The wild species is a different creature from its cultivated offspring: where French tarragon is honeyed and assertive, wild tarragon is reticent, its flavor bland or faintly medicinal. What it offers instead is architecture — erect silver stems reaching 3 feet, narrow linear leaves catching light like slender brushstrokes, and a quietly rhizomatous nature that means it earns its ground rather than being gifted it. It has been used medicinally across cultures for centuries, though the plant itself seems indifferent to our purposes.

It thrives in exactly the conditions that suit a wanderer: dry, sunny, pH-neutral, sharply drained soil. Wet summers or soggy winters will humble it quickly. Remove the flower buds before they open if you want foliage to remain dense, and cut the whole plant to the ground in early spring to encourage fresh growth. Divide clumps every few years to keep them vigorous. It suits herb gardens, naturalized dry areas, or containers with good drainage — though its rangy late-summer habit means it works best where other plants can carry the visual weight.