Subject: A Chamomile lawn?
Newsgroups: uk.rec.gardening
Date: Thu, 22 Feb 2007 08:37:18 GMT
18 months ago I took over a 30s bungalow in Forest Hall, Newcastle on
tyne. It faces south and is not overshadowed by any tall trees or
buildings. There are 2 lawns either side of a central path, about 7
paces long x 3 paces wide. The grass on them was not much good and
building work had made the levels wrong so last autumn I turned over
the lawns and shifted the earth and left them so over the winter. It
is now February and I must soon decide what to do next.
One possibility is Chamomile - or have I been reading too many novels?
(A garden along the road has lavender - the smell is lovely.)
What is your view of chamomile?
Is it expensive? How long does it take to become established? Is it
going to be an everlasting pain to stop the grass from growing
through? Does it do away with the need to mow?
Are there any other alternatives to grass?
It doesn't have to be hard-wearing, traffic will be light, only the
treading-over necessary to get to the border around it to tend the
plants there. It does have to be a perennial and still cover the
ground in winter.
On a related matter, I am not sure how to handle the beds around these
lawns, or even whether to have them at all. I have never seen the bare
earth of flower beds as beautiful. In a house I had before, I planted
Creeping Jenny on the beds around the flowers, and it looked pretty
when in flower and while out of flower it did a reasonable job of
covering the earth and stopping grass from growing. But I don't feel
like planting the whole lawn with creeping Jenny. Funny about that!
On the other hand, grass is the perfect ground cover, (it grows
anyway!) and I could sow the lawn to the concrete edges and either let
the flowers grow though it, or cut little holes for each plant, and
fill them in again after. But that creates difficulties with mowing
the lawn. Exactly the same thinking applies to Chamomile.
I would welcome some discussion.
Michael Bell
--
--
> Subject: A Chamomile lawn?
> Newsgroups: uk.rec.gardening
> Date: Thu, 22 Feb 2007 08:37:18 GMT
> 18 months ago I took over a 30s bungalow in Forest Hall, Newcastle on
> tyne. It faces south and is not overshadowed by any tall trees or
> buildings. There are 2 lawns either side of a central path, about 7
> paces long x 3 paces wide. The grass on them was not much good and
> building work had made the levels wrong so last autumn I turned over
> the lawns and shifted the earth and left them so over the winter. It
> is now February and I must soon decide what to do next.
> One possibility is Chamomile - or have I been reading too many novels?
> (A garden along the road has lavender - the smell is lovely.)
> What is your view of chamomile?
> Is it expensive? How long does it take to become established? Is it
> going to be an everlasting pain to stop the grass from growing
> through? Does it do away with the need to mow?
> Are there any other alternatives to grass?
> It doesn't have to be hard-wearing, traffic will be light, only the
> treading-over necessary to get to the border around it to tend the
> plants there. It does have to be a perennial and still cover the
> ground in winter.
> On a related matter, I am not sure how to handle the beds around these
> lawns, or even whether to have them at all. I have never seen the bare
> earth of flower beds as beautiful. In a house I had before, I planted
> Creeping Jenny on the beds around the flowers, and it looked pretty
> when in flower and while out of flower it did a reasonable job of
> covering the earth and stopping grass from growing. But I don't feel
> like planting the whole lawn with creeping Jenny. Funny about that!
> On the other hand, grass is the perfect ground cover, (it grows
> anyway!) and I could sow the lawn to the concrete edges and either let
> the flowers grow though it, or cut little holes for each plant, and
> fill them in again after. But that creates difficulties with mowing
> the lawn. Exactly the same thinking applies to Chamomile.
> I would welcome some discussion.
> Michael Bell
> --
I recalled hearing it on Gardeners Question Time ( mind like a rat trap full
of dead rodents)
there is a fact sheet good luck
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/gqt/fsheets/27_05_01/fsheetsq1.shtml
Derek
Thank you for this. I have heard of the "Treneague" variety of
Chamomile. I am no longer sure that Chamomile is what I want to plant.
What else might I put there? Why am I so against grass? It's the first
of May. I have to make up my mind soon!
Michael
>
>
--
XML site map
> Newsgroups: uk.rec.gardening
> Date: Thu, 22 Feb 2007 08:37:18 GMT
> 18 months ago I took over a 30s bungalow in Forest Hall, Newcastle on
> tyne. It faces south and is not overshadowed by any tall trees or
> buildings. There are 2 lawns either side of a central path, about 7
> paces long x 3 paces wide. The grass on them was not much good and
> building work had made the levels wrong so last autumn I turned over
> the lawns and shifted the earth and left them so over the winter. It
> is now February and I must soon decide what to do next.
> One possibility is Chamomile - or have I been reading too many novels?
> (A garden along the road has lavender - the smell is lovely.)
> What is your view of chamomile?
> Is it expensive? How long does it take to become established? Is it
> going to be an everlasting pain to stop the grass from growing
> through? Does it do away with the need to mow?
> Are there any other alternatives to grass?
> It doesn't have to be hard-wearing, traffic will be light, only the
> treading-over necessary to get to the border around it to tend the
> plants there. It does have to be a perennial and still cover the
> ground in winter.
> On a related matter, I am not sure how to handle the beds around these
> lawns, or even whether to have them at all. I have never seen the bare
> earth of flower beds as beautiful. In a house I had before, I planted
> Creeping Jenny on the beds around the flowers, and it looked pretty
> when in flower and while out of flower it did a reasonable job of
> covering the earth and stopping grass from growing. But I don't feel
> like planting the whole lawn with creeping Jenny. Funny about that!
> On the other hand, grass is the perfect ground cover, (it grows
> anyway!) and I could sow the lawn to the concrete edges and either let
> the flowers grow though it, or cut little holes for each plant, and
> fill them in again after. But that creates difficulties with mowing
> the lawn. Exactly the same thinking applies to Chamomile.
> I would welcome some discussion.
> Michael Bell
> --