How to Use Chamomile As a Grass Substitute

Chamomile spreads quickly.

Grass is still the best form of living carpet for a large lawn subject to wear, but small areas are ideal for experimenting with those alternatives to grass that will give your garden a highly individual touch.On a small-scale, chamomile is manageable, and a price worth paying if you fancy a lawn with a difference. You may find chamomile under one of its two widely used Latin names Chamaemelum nobile or Anthemis nobilis.

Things You'll Need

• Sparse garden area
• Selected chamomile cuttings or seed
• Shovel
• Rake

Instructions

1. Select chamomile for the scent. This classic grass substitute has been used for centuries to make an attractive, pale green lawn. The fact that it is aromatic when walked on, combined with its ability to tolerate a reasonable amount of wear, makes it an excellent choice for a small, ornamental area. But chamomile is not a practical proposition for a children's play area.

2. Keep in mind the appearance that chamomile will have in the lawn. Chamomile has small, feathery, aromatic leaves and white daisy flowers. The non-flowering, "Treneague" is preferable as flowers will spoil the close carpeted effect.

3. Prepare for chamomile to spread. Chamomile spreads rapidly by creeping stems, which is one reason that it makes such a good substitute for grass.

4. Try not to sow seed. The best lawns are established from young offshoots or cuttings of a non-flowering variety. If you buy seed, start them off in seed trays to produce young plants to put out later. If you buy young plants or offshoots by post they will probably arrive in a plastic bag--larger specimens from a garden center will be pot-grown but you will pay more.

5. Plant chamomile about 9 inches apart, or closer if you have a lot of seed-raised plants or cuttings of your own. Close spacing will achieve quicker cover, but the final result is unlikely to be any better. If you are growing from seed, start off under glass in early spring, and plant out in late spring, rather than sow directly in the open ground like grass.

6. Trim with the mower set high to encourage the development of sideshoots if the plants do not seem to be making enough bushy side growth. You will have to mow flowering forms occasionally to keep the plants compact.

Tips & Warnings

• Chamomille spreads quickly.