Thyme as a plant to walk on

[madderbat]

Not only can you grown thyme in the herb bed for the kitchen, but some varieties can be used as a 'lawn' and still contribute to the kitchen.

We removed our garden fence a few years ago to enable next doors little boy to have more play space. I planted 7 plants of low growing thyme along the border so that he could walk across without hurting anything.

Lemon Thyme, silver thyme, mother of thyme and creeping thyme have all thrived.
Will take a picture when the weather is a bit better.

[Birdie Wife]

Ahh, you just reminded me madders, at my last house after removing a mat of weeds we found a nice cobbled patio underneath. We planted lots of creeping thyme of various varieties and different coloured flowers - "Doone Valley" was especially charming with yellow and green variagated foliage and lots of flowers (okay so it's not strictly a creeper, but quite squat anyway!) but you have to be carfeul not to step on bees, they adored the flowers! And the smell of the thyme when you walked on it was lovely. Corsican mint worked really well too.

[Alice]

I planted some thyme at the side of a path and it spread and crawled across the path. Just a lovely scent to walk on and doesn't seem to do the thyme any harm. I have to rip it back every year to stop it taking over the world.

[Snadger]

A Chamomile seat would be nice and restful in the lottie, but I would imagine a Thyme seat would be overpowering to the nose,and prickle the bum to boot!

[pigletwillie]

A chamomile seat would be just for dainty ladies Snadger, my lardy bum would flatten it out.

[madderbat]

A Chamomile seat would be nice and restful in the lottie, but I would imagine a Thyme seat would be overpowering to the nose,and prickle the bum to boot!

Was thinking of walking on it, not sitting, but then some of the lower growing thymes are very soft!!

Has anyone else read The Thyme Garden ? Can't remember who it was by, but I read it as a kid and loved the concept - each patch of Thyme led to another patch of Time I think.

[Snadger]

Is thyme a true perennial? The reason I ask is that I have never been able to keep it more than a couple of years even when I'm quite fastidious with the pruning and shaping!

[Snadger]

A chamomile seat would be just for dainty ladies Snadger, my lardy bum would flatten it out.

And you size 12 plates of meat, or trotters in your case, wouldn't flatten the Thyme of course:????

[madderbat]

Snadger, cut the pruning - I believe it hates it! Trim lightly for the pot only.
The joy of these low growing ones is that you really don't need to prune them. I'm expecting to lose my common thyme in the herb bed as somehow it got broken down the middle, and left a nasty bare cut before Christmas. fortunately we've not had any frost (yet) so I'm hoping it will have had time to heal.

[Snadger]

Snadger, cut the pruning - I believe it hates it! Trim lightly for the pot only.
The joy of these low growing ones is that you really don't need to prune them. I'm expecting to lose my common thyme in the herb bed as somehow it got broken down the middle, and left a nasty bare cut before Christmas. fortunately we've not had any frost (yet) so I'm hoping it will have had time to heal.

I used to have Thyme as an informal hedge around my herb bed and it was trimmed for kitchen use only and to stop it spreading and thinning too much. Even so, patches started to die until it looked unsightly and was removed.

I still think it's a bit like sage in that its not a long lived perrenial and is best started from seed every few years or so to keep it vigourous?

Out of interest, how old is your Thyme madderbat? (Not father time!)

[nick the grief]

Thyme is a perennial and I used to have a sink garden that was nothing but thyme . Doone Valley is a super one but they are all nice and some of the lemon scented ones are super.

A hanging basket of thymes is nice as well. I once knew some one who had one by the back door in full sun and it smelt stunning when you walked past it.

It roots easy from cuttings as well snadger

[madderbat]

They were put in four years ago and the ones that have survived - 5 out of 7, are thriving. Havent cut them much at all though.

[Snadger]

They were put in four years ago and the ones that have survived - 5 out of 7, are thriving. Havent cut them much at all though.

Ahhh well! Thats my theory well and truly shot down then! Might try a few more this year, I had the common Thyme, Thymus vulgaris? and a lemon Thyme. I imagine things have moved on now though and if truth were told you can probably get strawberry scented Thyme by now!!

[Alison]

I've got a triangle of thyme set into the path down my garden which has been there for about 10 years. I just trim it back a bit in the spring / early summer to stop it creeping over the entire path and getting out of hand. Can't remember what type it is now but it smells lovely as you walk over it. You do have to keep off it when it's been wet and initially when first planted until established. Did try to grow a chamomile seat once but it didn't really get off the ground and died over winter so gave up on that one.

[Alice]

I think I have the same kind of thyme as you Alison. Long lived, low growing (well just creeping along the ground/path) and needing pulled back every year to stop it taking over the whole path.