Path herb?

[piskieinboots]

camomile?
rosemary?

I want to put some green stuff into one of the path areas at the lottie (from gate to shed) - would any of the above work?

[pigletwillie]

If you intend to plant them into the path rather than along its edge the camonile grows low but does not take heavy foot traffic well at all, the rosemary and also lavenders would be best planted along the edge to brush past and release their scent as they obviously grow much taller.

They would smell fabulous Piskie.

[smallblueplanet]

Some of the low-growing thymes would probably be okay - you often see it growing naturally in low grass?

[TonyF]

I agree with Dave but if it's for edging, I'd also plant some chives, chinese chives and welsh onions, very decorative and useful at the same time. Also nasturtiums look good as an edging plant, edible and look bright and cheerful.

[shirlthegirl43]

I have a plant with tiny leaves - think it is corsican mint. Very pretty and low growing, for use in sensory gardens.

[piskieinboots]

My thoughts were to have it as walking on material - some great ideas here, thanks chaps

[shirlthegirl43]

The corsican mint is okay to grow in with your grass, you can also get a camomile which is for a lawn - not sure how hard-wearing it would be for lottie paths though.

[Flummery]

You'd need climbing boots if you used rosemary - mine grows to about 4 ft and is a robust woody shrub. The small mints and thymes are good, and the non-flowering camomile is ok as long as you're not going to run up and down on it all day - the variety is Treneague. Should be lovely!

[piskieinboots]

doh! I really didn't mean Rosemary - I meant Thyme I was in a hurry this morning cos my bacon sarnie was ready

[Flummery]

Understandable then, under the circumstances!

[Paul Wagland]

There are no plants I can think of that will stand up to the traffic an allotment path carries - even a tough utility grass will turn into mush.

There are ways around this though... What about using paving slabs to make your path, but on top of the ground rather than flush with it, and with wider than usual gaps between them (say 30mm?). Then you could plant camomile or thyme between them, and it would grow to the level of the slabs.

Or, if you can find a cheap source, there are plastic 'hex grids' available for making areas of turf more hard wearing (they use them in some public gardens to keep the lawns looking good despite heavy traffic). You lay the grids flat on the ground and the grass grows inside them. Could work with herbs too maybe?

[piskieinboots]

oooh I like that one PW thanks

[Flummery]

Hmmm. Two PWs. Recipe for disaster???

[piskieinboots]

humm - maybe PW should be PW and the other PW should be PLW

*reverts to Sunday names Paul and David

[Paul Wagland]

Apart from David and I, there is also a PaulW isn't there?

I'm easy enough to confuse without things like this!