By Mary Lowther
Waiting for the rain to let up. Still have to get that awning over the nectarine tree before it starts leafing. I might have to do it in the rain. In the meantime I’ll do a little more garden planning.
An herbalist I know in Victoria grew a soft, aromatic bed of chamomile in her backyard that she slept on during hot summer nights. This chamomile was a perennial that rarely flowered to attract bees and grew no taller than 10 centimeters so she didn’t have to mow it. She dug up an area the size of her bed, removed all the weeds and planted Roman Chamomile.
Some folks plant this ground cover instead of grass because it rarely needs mowing, has fewer flowers than the common German Chamomile and smells wonderful. They recommend we dig out all the weeds in the proposed site first and rake it into a smooth, flat bed. Sow the seed, if you are lucky enough to find it, or the transplants, four to eight inches apart, water lightly daily for a couple of weeks, then water as needed for the rest of the summer. Don’t walk on it for three months — this is a long-term project.
It reproduces mainly by sending out roots so the bed will eventually fill up and may try to invade its surrounds, so I wouldn’t place it next to the vegetable patch.
Most nurseries carry the taller German Chamomile that does not create a low-lying ground cover. The one we want is the Roman Chamomile (Chamomile Nobile) and not too many suppliers carry it, nor is the seed readily available. Dinter’s carries the seedlings though, and, since they root well, one could take cuttings to pot up enough to start a bed.
An even lower-growing variety with very few flowers has been cultivated in England, called Chamomile Nobile Treneague, but the few sources I found offer seedlings only, in England and Israel. I’ve always wanted to visit Israel — I wonder if they’d let me bring the plants back on the plane.
Roman Chamomile will break down too quickly to be used for paths, but would be ideal for covering hard-to-mow areas. It’s a fairly hardy perennial and should be watered the same way as a grass lawn, and Roman Chamomile, like grass, will re-grow if it dies off in a droughty summer.
Most of my yard is given to vegetables and fruit but perhaps I can find room for a patch of this delightful, aromatic herb. I’m not sure if I’d sleep on it though because I don’t fancy waking up with a garter snake cuddling me up instead of our cat, even if they aren’t poisonous and even if I don’t have continued proof of their presence.