Chamomile German
The earth-apple herb - sweet apple-scented daisies for the world's most-drunk herbal tea
The herb of soothing evenings and the bees - sweet apple-scented daisies used for the world's most-drunk herbal tea, beloved of pollinators, and one of the most useful companion plants in any kitchen garden.
About this variety
The earth-apple herb, and if you grow one thing for the tea cupboard this is probably it. Small white daisies with high golden centres on slim ferny stems, and the sweet apple fragrance that gave chamomile its Greek name. One small patch produces more dried flowers in a summer than most households drink in a year.
This is the chamomile of chamomile tea worldwide — the most drunk herbal infusion on earth. There is a particular pleasure in a cup made from flowers you picked and dried yourself that no teabag matches.
It is also one of the most useful companion plants in a kitchen garden, sometimes called the plants' physician for the way it seems to improve the health of brassicas, onions and cucumbers growing nearby. Do not feed it — like most herbs it gives its best scent on lean ground.
Plant alongside
Chamomile German pairs beautifully with these kitchen garden companions
