Herbal Lawns

I love the idea of an herbal lawn. I currently have chocolate mint growing in a few areas and it is heavenly to walk on and/or mow! And, unfortunately, not nearly as invasive as I wanted it to be - I really wanted it to spread everywhere.

Another herb that I have read rave reviews about in the lawn is chamomile. I do have some seeds but so far I have not been successful growing chamomile here in South Carolina. Has anyone else in a hot humid environment had success with this herb? I would love some tips!

Here is an interesting article I found in the Herb Companion on herbal lawns: http://www.herbcompanion.com/Gardening/HERBAL-LAWNS.aspx

I'm not really into lawns, and my climate is not exactly what you might describe as 'humid', but every spring this happens...



It doesn't last the summer, but it's absolutely gorgeous to walk on while it does last. A lot of the old paths and tracks around the place are overgrown with it too. Kind of magical really...

I haven't had a chance to try growing chamomile down here yet. My guess is that either it gets burned in the hot sun (although Burra gets some brutal heat too, I think), or else the chamomile may hate the dead clay soils we have. You might do a test, try growing some in partial shade, another group in full sun, and a third group in full sun but with the soil amended with rock dust+diatomaceous earth. Most of europe is on chalk or limestone, so it may just not tolerate acid :\. It's often a challenge getting stuff to tolerate the conditions down yonder.

We *do* have brutal heat, but the chamomile has adapted to that by being a spring plant. Our spring is early, and the months to see carpets of chamomile here are February and March. It goes into hiding for the summer months!

Burra Maluca wrote:We *do* have brutal heat, but the chamomile has adapted to that by being a spring plant. Our spring is early, and the months to see carpets of chamomile here are February and March. It goes into hiding for the summer months!

That makes sense. If we sowed it around christmas here, it could probably survive until at least May. It usually doesn't get real warm here until then. Not so great for a permanent lawn cover, though.

I think I might just try that!