The Zone 6 Lawn Guild

I've settled on a plan, for eventual replacement of lawn grass with low-growing, fragrant, ground-cover. This will be the case in the vinyard out front, as well as in the small back lawn between the house and the Food Forest.

Plants are as follows:
German (Creeping) Chamomile
Corsican Mint
White Clover
Native Violets
False Strawberry
Creeping Thyme
a Crocus assortment

This will never need mowing, can tolerate being walked on without suffering much damage, smells nice, is beautiful, and all of the plants are useful should a need for them arise.

Sounds nice!

How far are you going to space the chamomile and mint, and about how long do you expect them to take in filling in the gaps between?

I would suggest throwing yarrow in the mix. It enhances essential oil production in herbs.

As to your vines, you might want to consider adding star anise to the mix there, as it it supposed to be a valuable companion crop for vines, as a scent distractor, I think.

-CK

Dustin Rhodes wrote:Sounds nice!

How far are you going to space the chamomile and mint, and about how long do you expect them to take in filling in the gaps between?

Well, I'm planning to till and broadcast, so... not going to plan the spacing. I don't know how long it will take, but if I find the sprouting uneven after a few weeks, I will just fill in the major gaps with more seeds. Most of these plants will take a few years to fully establish but will probably start growing right away.

I would suggest throwing yarrow in the mix. It enhances essential oil production in herbs.

As to your vines, you might want to consider adding star anise to the mix there, as it it supposed to be a valuable companion crop for vines, as a scent distractor, I think.

Yarrow is much too tall to be a lawn and I don't think anise would survive the winter here. It might. But I doubt it. Also, I wouldn't call any of these plants "vines". Yes, clover has tendrils and is a legume, but it doesn't climb and its vine-y appendages are usually underground or close to it. All of these plants spread, but none are climbers.