If you’re growing in containers, add at least 30% horticultural grit or sand to the compost mix to help with drainage. Plant creeping thyme in a warm, sheltered sunny spot with well-draining soil. Large healthy plants can be divided in spring or fall and planted into new garden locations or shared with friends and neighbors. It’s also a good idea to sow seeds for transplants each year to fill any gaps. If you want to achieve full coverage sooner, then space plants more densely. Measure the growing space and calculate the number of creeping thyme plants you’ll need to cover this area based on the ultimate plant spread, which is 6 to 18 inches (15-46 cm) each way, depending on the variety. Start seeds indoors in early spring for planting out after all risk of frost has passed.

If you want to create a creeping thyme lawn, then your best and most economical option is to plant seeds. It can also be divided from a mature plant or grown using shop-bought garden-ready stock. They can be started indoors by planting seeds and then transplanted outside in late spring or early summer. It is also non-toxic, making it safe for the whole family, including pets. This, together with its dense growing habit, out-competes and smother weeds making it a good alternative to a grass lawn, especially when you plant starts in staggered rows. Most other thyme, including wild thyme, have white to bright pink flowers.Ĭreeping thyme smells wonderful and is a ground cover that spreads through rhizomes growing across the soil surface. Thymus praecox – or red creeping thyme – grows slightly taller (4 in) than Thymus serpyllum (2.5 in) and has deep, rich red/purple flowers. The green leaves can be used to flavor cooked food such as soups, casseroles, and stews and the flowers can be added as a garnish to salads to add color and interest. Flowers that butterflies love appear as clusters of small red/purple, white flowers, and pink or pale pink flowers at the end of stems in late spring and mid-summer. Tender new stems have the best flavor and strongest aroma. The grey/green tiny oval-shaped leaves are slightly hairy and highly aromatic.

First-year growth is slow, but once established, blooming thyme will reach maximum spread in around 3 years. It has a sprawling growth habit growing to 3-4 inches tall above the ground (7-10 cm) and 6-18 inches (15-46 cm) spread.

The thymus genus is part of the mint family, Lamiaceae, and originates from southern Europe and Asia.Ĭreeping thyme is a short-lived woody perennial covered in foliage, lasting around 3 to 5 years before becoming unproductive and spindly. There’s plenty of coverage no matter which thyme variety is chosen. There are two key varieties of thyme with a low growing habit that gives rise to the common name ‘creeping thyme’: Thymus praecox, also known as the mother of thyme, and Thymus serpyllum, commonly referred to as wild thyme. Source: Rachel Ford James Common Name(s)Ĭreeping thyme, mother of thyme, wild thymeĪll About Creeping Thyme When flowering, creeping thyme develops a pink to purple mat across its foliage. Quick Care Guide Creeping thyme can be a very effective groundcover option. Good Products At Amazon For Growing Creeping Thyme: Creeping thyme is also a magnet for pollinating insects, especially bees and butterflies, which adds delicious flavor to the resulting honey. Both the flowers and leaves are edible, and unlike many other herbs, creeping thyme plants do not lose their flavor when in bloom and when the flowers die. Low maintenance growing and including an excellent aromatic ground cover are some of the benefits. There are many benefits to growing the green leaves and sometimes white flowers of creeping thyme in your garden. It can even be used as an alternative to a grass lawn, growing only a few inches tall, able to withstand moderate foot traffic, and providing a spectacular vision of pink when in bloom. This aromatic herb, although edible, is used mainly as a garden landscape tool or as a ground cover, filling gaps between stepping stones and crevices in dry-stone walls. Read on to discover how to create your own little slice of flowering creeping thyme heaven that spreads quickly through your front yard. Good news! It’s very easy to recreate this look at home. Creeping thyme is one of those ‘must have’ plants you see in glossy lifestyle magazines, with soft pink floral carpets cascading over cottage garden walls or sprawling across a gravel garden overlooking the ocean, creating an altogether dreamy and aspirational ambiance.

Creeping thyme ground cover zone