I am currently working on a garden design where I am considering using an alternative to a grass lawn.. am really excited by the idea of using either Chamaemelum nobile 'Treneague' or Thymus serpyllum 'minor'. I understand that the Chamomile can be bought and laid as turfs and that the creeping Thyme can be planted as plants. We (clients and I) may well decide to go with a combination of both conventional lawn and do some inter-planting with these alternative ground cover plants.
The space available for planting lawn is 30 square metres. The garden has a south-west aspect and the current quality of the soil needs improving, still has small bits of builders rubble from landscaping work recently carried out.
Has anyone any experiences they can share with me please? Successes and challenges..
I look forward to hearing from you.
Thanks
Judi.. :-)
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I've looked at this a couple of times for clients and I have reached some conclusions. The main one is that if the lawn is going to receive anything more than really, really occasional use, stick with grass and some interplanting in very light traffic areas. Grass alternatives like thyme and chamomile do look great and smell fantastic when lightly crushed, but they really cannot take the wear that a lawn receives. Where I do use them as often as I can is when interplanting footpaths or gaps in patios. Pratia pedunculata (Blue Star Creeper) is also worth considering, but it is invasive. Have a look at www.stepables.com - it's a US site but its great for loads of "underfoot" planting ideas.
Brilliant feedback, thanks Andy very much!
Judi.. :-)