![]() Mint can be a good companion to cabbages and tomatoes. But it’s also a very persistent spreader that can easily take over your garden, so plan wisely. She says prostrate pennyroyal, Mentha pulegium, can be planted in paths and withstand foot traffic. Sarah Garland recommends creeping mints as ground covers in shady, protected spots. One master gardener describes using mint as a ground cover under citrus trees. It will also thrive in partial shade, unlike most ground covers. Like lemon balm, it probably won’t substitute for lawn grass, but it will grow thickly and choke out weeds in places where you’re not wanting to walk regularly. Mint, (Mentha spp) is a fragrant, flavorful edible, and medicinal herb. Its leaves add a refreshing flavor to teas, desserts, and other foods. It’s too tall and soft to plant in places with regular foot traffic, but I’ve found it a good ground cover under trees where mowing or mulching would be a nuisance. Lemon balm, ( Melissa officinalis), is a thickly growing fragrant perennial that will thrive in either sun or partial shade. Roman chamomile will grow either in partial shade or in full sun.Ĭhamomile is a good companion to onions, cabbages, and aromatic herbs. Garland recommends staying off the turf until plants are well established, and then walking on them and rolling them regularly. Chamomile’s sweet scent is a pleasant bonus.Ĭhamomile flowers can be used medicinally and for flavoring (link to your article on chamomile), but chamomile makes a better turf if the flowers are removed. Sarah Garland says in T he Complete Book of Herbs and Spices that chamomile lawns were common in Britain before grass lawns were introduced in the 1700s. You can walk on this once it’s well established. Roman chamomile, ( Chamaemelum Nobile), not its annual relative German chamomile, which grows well in zones 6-8, makes a solid perennial turf. Here are eight herbs that serve one of these functions in our gardens. You may choose to replace a lawn, crowd out weeds or help to prevent soil erosion. “Ground cover” can mean several different things when planning your landscape. This requires considerable care and thought since most ground-covering herbs are perennial and most garden vegetables are annual. You may also be able to use low-growing ground-covering herbs as living mulches in vegetable beds under tall vegetable plants. If your ground cover is an aggressive spreader you may have to keep tearing it out of the edges of your beds, so keep this in mind when planning. Planted in paths, around borders, or on the steep slopes between terraced beds, they may attract pollinators, repel pest bugs, and provide other benefits. Ground-covering herbs can also be incorporated into your vegetable garden. Or you can plant them under and around trees and shrubs, rather than having to constantly weed or mulch those areas. Plants that won’t stand up to heavy foot traffic may be grown as ground covers to prevent erosion on terraces or steep slopes. Herbs may require less water than lawn grass, and they also provide fragrance, flavor, and health benefits. There are several good reasons to replace an existing lawn with herbs. Some herbs (and other edible plants) can be used as a substitute for lawn grass-you can walk, lie, work, and play on them and they’ll keep growing. Some will double as ground covers in lawns, under trees, or even in your vegetable garden. Your herbs don’t have to be confined to a specially designated herb garden. ![]()
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