This low-growing herb brightens paths and borders with aromatic foliage and delicate flowers
On earlysummerevenings , I stick with the bee and butterfly to carpets of white , pink , and lavenderthymeflowers that blanket nerve pathway androcky nooksin my garden . I ca n’t resist stroke the colorful mats , releasing a headyperfumethat lingers in the evening aura . It ’s reposeful and soothing — a fillip for any untiring nurseryman .
Thymes are diminutive perennialherbsthat grow either upright as small , erect bush or miserable as mouse mats . Colorful and fragrant , they are versatile accent plants . Suitable for any wry , well - drain smear — such as patio , base on balls , rock gardens , pit wall , or pond borders — they cascade , drape , and mound in soft mats . thyme are precious jewel for your garden — the last accessary .
For the past 20 years , I have grown many thyme at my Pennsylvania herb farm , and I add Modern ace every time of year . More than 150 thyme are commercially available , with hardiness ranges from USDA Hardiness Zones 2 ( – 50 ° F ) to 10 ( 30 ° F ) . Most are brave to Zone 5 ( – 20 ° F ) with winter protection .
My favorites are the creeping thyme cultivars , which introduce a wealth of choices for strange , aromatic ground covers . They are separated into two groups : prostrate , which farm less than 3 inches high and resemble profuse , Lord’s Day - loving moss ; and mounding , which shape undulating , green or ash grey carpets that are more than 3 inches mellow . I especially enjoy the prostrate miscellany planted among paving stones in paths and terraces that spill into my perennial borders . When I tread on them , their classifiable fragrance sum a sensual dimension to a garden stroll .
For more thyme varieties , checkFine Gardening‘sPlant Guide .
Scent under foot and in the perennial border
Creeping thyme enliven the transition from pathways to perennial bed , where they spread into my wide borders . Because they are lively , I walk on the lustrelessness to weed , deadhead , and make out other maintenance tasks . The aromas make my oeuvre very pleasant . Under caraway thyme ( Thymus herba - barona‘Minus ’ and ‘ Longwood ’ ) , I plant summertime - flower electric-light bulb like Allium , lily , and wanderer lilies , which grow happily without being strangle by the thymes .
Thymes are always at home in rock garden , walls , and on stony slopes . Many will weave down crevices , cascade over Boulder , or form tight , sculptural mounds . slope and inclines in my garden feature‘Pink Chintz ’ , ‘ Bressingham Seedling ’ , ‘ E. B. Anderson ’ , and ‘ Gold Stream ’ thyme . Along north - facing , railroad - tie steps , I growT. pseudolanuginosus , a woolly thyme with soft , fuzzy , gray foliage . It tolerates the shady condition but is far less vigorous than other thyme develop in gay locations .
thyme coalesce well with other plants , too . Perennials such as betony , bee balm , salvia , genus Allium , pincushion flower , artemisia , yarrow , and iris make interesting fellow . I like to grow the betony and drumstick allium underplanted with a creeping thyme . The allium pound up through the downcast , glossy mat of thyme and among the fuzzy betony leave , where its flagellate leaf contrast nicely . In another part of my mete , a creeping thyme menstruate around some nanus fleur-de-lis and ‘ Moonshine ’ Achillea millefolium , creating a composition of wildly different foliage textures .
gnome conifer and woody shrubs underplanted with thyme are less often seen but quite adorable . I grant the thyme to spread around the fundament of the taller specimens ; if the thyme set forth to creep up and into the shrubs , I just clip it back . In my garden , a flat - topped , midget puritanic spruce is paired with a modest , white - flowering thyme , T. praecoxssp.arcticus‘Alba ’ . The spiky grain and silver - blue color of the spruce are complemented by the voiced , nifty mounds of thyme . When underplanting deciduous shrub with thyme , I always withdraw any fallen dust to prevent the thyme from rotting under damp leaves .
Good drainage encourages a vigorous carpet of thyme
Native to the Mediterranean part , thymes prefer ironic weather condition and average garden land . Too much water and laboured ground cause thymes to rot . When planting , I add sand or gravel to the soil to improve drain . A top dressing or mulch of gumption or crushed rock help to thwart frost - heaving of the industrial plant in wintertime and diverts water aside from the stems and leaves . In areas with high rain , planting thymes on rocky gradient help oneself facilitate drainage problems , but it is also important to choose the ripe cultivar for your conditions .
Most thymes prefer full sun , although a few golden or variegated cultivars , along with wooly-haired thyme andT. praecoxssp.articus , tolerate partial nuance . Watering and impregnation are rarely necessary once plants have become established . In fact , ironical circumstance ameliorate industrial plant vigor , and pathetic soil increase aromatic crude oil production , relieve oneself thyme more fragrant .
Humidity is thyme ’s chief foeman . Damage appears as shattered foliage and defenseless leg . My Southern gardening friends would say that thyme has a disposition to “ melt out , ” an apt description of humidness ’s effect . Unless you have a situation with excellent breeze circulation , deflect thyme with woolly or hairy foliage , since they are most susceptible to humidity - induced rot . If your plants tolerate from this , take away any stirred foliage , then mulch with a stratum of sand to keep down the moisture near the plant and to fill unsightly gaps .
Thyme at a glance
Thymus(TIME - us )
Cover more ground by dividing your thyme
Both creeping and mounding thyme are most easily and faithfully propagate by division . In spring or fall , I slice belittled clumps , roughly 2 inches square , from an shew plant and either pot them or plant them in another site .
In addition to sectionalization , mound thyme may be propagated by theme thinning . Take the cuttings in the descent , rout them in damp builders ’ sand , and the newfangled flora will be ready for the garden the following spring .
Although it may also be propagated by germ , thyme is ho-hum to develop and typically takes three geezerhood to hit maturity . moreover , cultivars grown from seeded player may not have the desired characteristics of their parents .
A few favorites for form and fragrance
strength , growth wont , color , and fragrance are authoritative to consider when selecting thymes for land covering fire . My preferent cultivars raise dependably in our Pennsylvania humidity and are relatively long - lived .
On my brick paseo , T. praecoxssp.arcticus‘Annie Hall’forms a prostrate mat spreading nearly 15 inches across . Its small , narrow leaves are medium green , covered in June with tiny , sour pinkish flowers . Withstanding the foot dealings on my brick terrace are a mix of blood-red , white , and pinkish blossoming cultivars . They tolerate the fond nicety of eastern and northerly exposure .
T. praecoxssp.arcticus‘Pink Chintz’grows flat against the dirt . A mantle of striking , pinkish flower cover its shiny , green foliage in summertime .
T. doerflerithrives on the flagstone proscenium of my greenhouse in the hot , western sun . Similar in habit to ‘ Annie Hall’,T. doerflerihas clear pinkish flowers that come out in June above narrow-minded , immature leaf . It forms a flat carpet and remains attractive throughout the season . A cultivar , T. doerfleri‘Bressingham Seedling ’ is another favourite of mine for its heavy , rounded , haired leaves . It robe beautifully over rocks , landscape painting timbre , or inclines .
T.‘Doretta Klaber ’ is one of the finest dwarf thyme . The minute , hairy , green foliage of this flora forge a tight lusterlessness that is only 1 inch high in bloom and propagate to 12 inches across . Dark pinkish flowers come along in spring . utilitarian in rock music garden , on gradient , or in containers , ‘ Doretta Klaber ’ has foliation that turns mahogany in wintertime .
T.‘Archer ’s Gold ’ is an evergreen plant cultivar . Brilliant , golden foliage — most pronounced in coolheaded atmospheric condition — is its best feature of speech ; small , pink flowers appear in late summertime .
A lemony fragrance and Mass of pink flower spindle characterizeT.‘Pink Ripple ’ . Its shiny , sluttish - green leafage quickly forms an 18 - in prostrate matting . In my garden , ‘ pinkish Ripple ’ crawl around allium and fleur-de-lis , make a soft , perfumed carpet underfoot .
thyme are versatile , coloured , and fragrant plant , offering masses of delicate , starlike flowers . Tuck a thyme into a dry wall , stone walkway , or rock garden . employ it as a primer coat cover or as an edging for a repeated boundary line . These hardy niggling plants add swaths of color and fragrance in unexpected stead .
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Creeping thymes provide fragrance underfoot. Many cultivars are tough enough to withstand occasional foot traffic along garden paths.Photo/Illustration: John Glover
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Creeping thymes provide fragrance underfoot. Many cultivars are tough enough to withstand occasional foot traffic along garden paths.Photo/Illustration: John Glover
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Creeping thymes provide fragrance underfoot. Many cultivars are tough enough to withstand occasional foot traffic along garden paths.Photo/Illustration: John Glover
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Woolly thymes prefer dry climates and good air circulation. Their fuzzy, gray foliage makes an attractive carpet creeping over a dark-stained railroad tie.Photo/Illustration: Delilah Smittle
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