If you’re growing a tea garden, children’s garden, or an aromatherapy garden this year, consider adding a cultivated variety of chamomile to your plant inventory. This cheerful, unassuming little flower comes in both an annual and perennial version (German chamomile is an annual. Roman chamomile is perennial.) In our climate, even the annual will overwinter with just a little protection. It’s drought and sun tolerant, cold hardy and it freely reseeds. It even deters mosquitoes.
Not convinced yet? Consider what it can do for your kitchen garden:
Chamomile deters pests among vegetables and its antifungal properties protect plants from damage (brassicas, squash). It boosts the flavor and vigor of other plants (onions, basil), and attracts pollinators and beneficial insects (ladybugs and Japanese beetles). Biodynamics practitioners add chamomile along with five other herbal preparations (yarrow, nettle, oak bark, dandelion and valerian) to activate fermentation in compost. Chamomile accumulates potassium, calcium, sulfur and phosphorous from deep in the soil as it grows. Let it die back or chop and drop it for mulch to dress your topsoil.
Chamomile flowers are a gentle yet powerful ally in any home apothecary. While you can find them in tea blends at the store, growing your own is the best way to be sure you’re using a clean, fresh, sustainably harvested product with volatile oils and properties intact. A steaming aromatic infusion of herbs from the garden is a daily treat many of us can give ourselves, and chamomile is kid-friendly herb that almost everyone finds soothing. Snip the flowers and stockpile them in a paper bag to dry. Its actions are tonic, stomachic, anodyne, antispasmodic, laxative, diaphoretic, analgesic, carminative, anti-inflammatory and sedative.
Though it turns bitter if oversteeped, chamomile can combine with other flavors to bring a certain bright/sweet layer to old standards. Strawberry-chamomile, for example, is a favorite combination in our household. Syrup. Jam. Kombucha. You name it.
In our area, you’ll also find a wild chamomile called pineappleweed (Matricaria discoidea) growing in gravels and along the sides of trails, driveways, orchards and paths. If you are lucky enough to locate a patch that you’re sure is not in the path of pesticides, dogs and foot, bike, auto and harvest traffic, pinch off the small, petal-free flowers and dry them for your teacup.
Ready to add some chamomile to your garden? We’ve got Zloty Lan chamomile starts in stock ($2 each) this week. We select this variety for its slightly larger flowers and high essential oil content. Email [email protected] to place an order. (Nursery pick-up in central Yakima.)
***Growing Culture: Chamomile needs sun and well drained soil, but it does well in pots and even works as a houseplant if you’ve got a sunny enough spot.
