The chamomile lawn

Posted by Tiggy Salt on May 8th, 2007

Monday found me at Jekka’s herb farm, near Bristol, on a trip to see our chamomile lawn. It was planted right back in November in order to be etablished enough for our purposes, so I was intrigued to see the result of so many months of careful nurture. We ordered giant plugs of Roman Chamomile, Chamaemelum nobile, the tallest growing variety to be planted in trays to achieve a continual turf like effect to suggest the quilt on Max’s bed.

Jekka’s Herb Farm, although not open to the public but by appointment only, really is a sight for sore eyes. They hold occasional opendays and workshops, so do try and go if you can. Jekka showed me a pomegranate tree she had grown from seed, gigantic artichokes, drifts of fennel, sage, angelica, verbena, etc. all in beautifully organised, serried ranks, stretching out towards the corn fields which surround her idyllic farm. Although obviously intended for the kitchen, her herbs are grown to such an impeccable standard and arranged that they easily achieve the grace of an ormamental garden, and the ever changing wafts of scent adds an even more powerful dimension to the whole. She is contagiously passionate about her herbs and, together with her great friend Rosemary Hardy of Hardy’s Cottage Garden Plants, who are also growing for us, she holds the joint record for the woman to have won the highest number of consecutive golds at Chelsea, 13 to date. But there was panic in her voice this year; she told me that this has been the most stressful yet as we have had no rain and soaring temperatures throughout April which has caused much stock to go over and bolt (I love saying that phrase, hard to see, somehow, a lettuce making a break for it). It’s really serious, however, for everyone all over England as so much irreplacable stock will be lost and both floral exhibitors and show gardens will be let down, all because of climate change.

We go on site next Friday, 11th May so we really are nearly there, so I thought you might like to read the Client’s Brief which we submitted to the RHS. I hope it gives you an idea about the final decisions we have made and show how the garden has developed from its initial concept.

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