Camomile at the allotment

This year I'm growing Roman camomile (Chamaemelum nobile) at the allotment. I like camomile tea but have only ever made it from tea bags, and herb teas from tea bags often seem to me to be a poor imitation of teas made from home-grown fresh or dried herbs. My camomile plants have been flowering for some time now, but I've been waiting for a rare moment of sun to pick some flowers for tea.

Camomile tea can be made from the flowers of Roman camomile or German camomile (Matricaria recutita), which both have a wide range of effects on the body with generally calming and digestive actions. I was actually a little surprised by the taste of the tea I made from fresh flowers yesterday; not immediately pleasant, it was slightly bitter but with a sweeter aftertaste and after a few sips I got used to the flavour. Some of the digestive effects of camomile can probably be attributed to that bitterness.

There are plenty of other reasons to grow camomile in the garden or allotment. It is an attractive yet unassuming little herb, low-growing and unshowy, with fragrant, feathery foliage and white and yellow flowers which are loved by beneficial insects. It is easy to grow from seed and even easier to propagate from cuttings.

Camomile is also an excellent companion plant - it seems to act like a health tonic for other plants growing nearby. I've planted it in between my artichokes (for space-saving reasons as much as anything else) so it can grow in the partial shade beneath the grey-green architectural leaves, and both species seem quite happy with the arrangement.