camomile lawn

[Andy Hamilton]

Just planted a camomile lawn anyone know how long it will take to come up? Also the packet says it apprechiates being walked on, I take it this is when it has reached a certain level of maturity?

[wulf]

I got some chamomile growing last year - not a lawn as such but a few bits here and there (which survived the winter and are now thriving again). It's great to brush past it and release the scent.

For a lawn, I'd definitely wait until it is established before walking all over it.

Wulf

[alcina]

Plants that appreciate being walked on! Now there's a novelty! Maybe that's what I did wrong with my cammomile plant - I put it in a pot and didn't trample it!

Alcina

[Mandyz]

I don't know camomile, but we're considering replacing our backyard sod with wild thyme. According to the local seed company that provides this as an eco lawn alternative, it can witchstand heavy traffic. The only problem of course is that I need to traffic the area while it's first growing... hmm.. Maybe I can just do strips of growth in turn.

[Mr. Trench]

I'm having a go at camomile for the first time this year. It's looking great in the seed tray, but I rather wondered what it meant by 'lawn'. I do know that thyme is supposed to be wonderful to walk over. I read in some novel once about the great smell that gets released as you walk over. Another ambition is to have herringbone brick pavements with loads of thyme just covering it all! Mmmm. May try this in Summer, but my brick laying is as good as my carpentry (i.e. dreadful). Andy

[Millymollymandy]

I had wild thyme in the lawn of my last house. Huge great areas! It can be mown, walked on, whatever you normally do a lawn! Then you just stop mowing those areas when they come into flower and it is gorgeous.

Last year I grew tons of it from seed (very tricky as the seed is minute and the seedlings so small they are very hard to prick out!). Now I have many plants spreading over a flower bed on a slope - the purpose for it is to retain the earth and suppress the weeds.

[Boots]

I really like these ideas. Do they - thyme & camomile - need much water?

And is thyme the one with the furry thick leaves? I have some sort of herb going berserk and it has grown out of its pot and looks great, but I'm not sure if it would easily damage if it was walked on though.

Am not into herbs and not sure why I buy them and then forget what they are are what they can be used for.

[Millymollymandy]

I don't know about camomile, but thyme doesn't need much water. It grows wild around the Mediterranean area where it is pretty hot and dry.

Your herb could be sage? Thyme has teeny tiny leaves.

I love herbs but tend to use only a few for culinary purposes because I just love the ones that flower and the butterflies/bees they attract! A lot of them are beautiful plants in their own right.

[gunners71uk]

my friends allotment has one it was done a couple months ago took quite a while approx 6 weeks the weed control fa ctor is a problem and its warmer now
regards gunners

[Mr. Trench]

And is thyme the one with the furry thick leaves?

Agree with the other post - this is either sage or borrage. If the fur stings a bit it is borrage. The reason I mention it is because I think that borrage grows more rampantly than sage.

I know sage is good with onion etc. for sausages, but what about borrage. Good for anything?

Andy

[Mr. Trench]

I love herbs but tend to use only a few for culinary purposes because I just love the ones that flower and the butterflies/bees they attract! A lot of them are beautiful plants in their own right.

Absolutely agree - even better most are perennial. It's really only basil & fennel I have to grow every year, the rest of the really useful ones come back by themselves (for me that's fennel, chives, oegano, parsley for mediterranian cooking and sorrel for salads). Sage, thyme, mint, rosemary, lemon balme, c etc. I keep just to look nice - don't tend to cook with them as we're veggies.

[hedgewitch]

Borage Flowers can be crystallized and used to decorate cakes, they are also good sprinkled in a salad and look stunning with their deep purplish blue colour. You can also cook a few Leaves along with Spinnach as they are very high in calcium, potassium and mineral salts.
The best thing about this plant is that it attracts bees into the garden.

[glenniedragon]

Don't forget Borage frozen in ice cubes to go with your Pimms!

Kind thougths
Deb

[Millymollymandy]

Mr Trench - I think I only ever use mint in non-meat dishes (loads of 'em) as I can only think of lamb as a use for mint with meat!! Oh and Greek meat balls.

[gunners71uk]

minted peas
minted new potatoes
minted coins lol