ORGANIC HEB
I
’vebeenweedingandcleaninguppartsofmygarden,
readyforsomeplanting.OneoftheperennialsthatI
love,andhavebeendigginganddividing,isdyer’s
chamomile.It’sbotanicalnamewasAnthemistinctoriabut
isnowCotatinctoria,althoughyou’llstillfinditunderboth
names.Idounderstandtheneedtoupdatebotanicalnames
inlinewithnewresearch,butitcanmakeitreallyhardfor
gardenersandgardenwriterstokeepup!
Thislovelyperennial,spreadingherbgrowsasevergreen
moundsofsoft-greenfernyleaves.Plantsgrowtoabout
50cmwheninflowerandwillspreadtocovermorethan
ametreineverydirection.
Ilovetheearlymorningsinspringandsummerwhenthe
beautifulbutter-yellowflowersofdyer’schamomileglowin
mygarden.Unsurprisingly,theyattractbutterfliesandmake
delightfulcutflowers,whichoccurfromspringtoautumn.
Manyyearsago,whenIusedtospinanddyemyownwool,
Ipickedbucketsfullofflowersandprizedthesoftorange
colourproducedwhencombinedwithanalumorchrome
mordant,thegreenish-brownwithanironmordant,and
brightyellowwithnomordant.*
Asidefromallthis,youcanalsorubtheleavesontoabite
torelievepainandswelling.Alas,youcan’tusetheflowers
tomaketeaasyoucanwiththetruechamomilesMatricaria
recutitaandChamaemelumnobile.Growingneeds
Newlyplantedclumpsmayneedsomewateronasummer’s
daytohelpthemsurvivetheheatofthedaybuttheyare
otherwiseeasytogrow.Theywillalsotoleratemildfrosts.
Thisherbdoesbestinasunnypositionwithwell-drainedsoil,
andthrivesonstoneygroundandspillingoverstonewalls.
Plantswillnotsurviveconstantlywetsoilsorheavyfrost.In
sub-tropicalregions,growinapotoraverywell-drainedbed,
inapositionwhereitisshelteredfromheavysummerrain.
Thereareseveralcultivarstochoosefromwithflowersof
differentshadesofyellow,including‘E.C.Buxton’withpale
lemon-yellowflowers,anothercalled‘Kelwayii’thatisamass
ofcanaryyellowflowers,and‘Alba’withwhiteflowers.
Aswellasdivision,dyer’schamomileisalsoeasilygrown
fromcuttingstakeninspringorautumn.
* Mordant is a dye fixative.Penny Woodward loves the beautiful
butter-yellow flowers of dyer’s
chamomile, its attractiveness to
butterflies and its use as a dye.A HERB TO DY F
PHOTO: PENNY WOODWARD