Do you have THYME?

  

Thymus vulgaris "common thyme"

Thymus vulgaris or common thyme is usually the one you use for cooking. It has found a home in the medicinal world as well as a great garden companion. It has been considered an almost “perfect” herb because of its flexibility. It can mimic other herbs, fill in chinks in rock gardens (the creeping varieties) create a scented path in your yard or (one of my favorites) is to create a unique fairy garden setting for children.  

Its name ‘Thymus’ has been traced to the Greek word for ‘courage’ which is appropriate since the smell has been known to be invigorating to the senses, hence making you feel indomitable!  There is information that the word ‘Thymus’ is also Greek for ‘to fumigate.’ This was due to the herb’s use in helping chase stinging insects from homes by burning the herb and waving it around in the air. Gardeners also planted a patch of herb for the garden faeries, much like we would put out bird houses! ¹

Thyme has also been a symbol of courage when women would give knights their scarf that had a sprig of thyme placed over an embroidered bee. It has been used to flavor liqueurs and cheeses and it was one of the ingredients used to help preserve mummies in ancient Egypt!   It has been used as a tea to combat shyness or other nervous disorders including nightmares. When used as a companion plant for vegetables such as eggplant, potatoes and tomatoes it is thought to help repel cabbage worms and white fly. (I’m trying this one this spring, my neighbor has an awful white fly problem but I can't convince her to do anything about it. She calls them her 'night moths'. Not sure why...)

Thyme seeds

Thyme has also been used as an antiseptic and stimulating property in lotions and bath concoctions and is now widely used as an antifungal and antibacterial. As an aromatic you can use the dried flowers and leaves as an insect repellent in storing linens by incorporating them into sachets. The compound thymol which gives thyme its main odor is used in colognes and soaps.

Thyme is a perennial, loves the sun and heat and drier soil, but don’t allow it to bake dry. If your area is very hot, I’d recommend planting thyme in an area with afternoon shade. Thymus vulgaris is bushy, growing to about 2’ tall. The leaves are very small and as it ages it can become woody stemmed. Thyme needs a well drained soil or pot as they can be susceptible to fungal diseases if they get too wet.  They are also susceptible to spider mites, although I haven’t seen this problem as much. As with all plants avoid watering the leaves as this can create a fungal problem or if it is a hot day, can burn the leaves a bit. Also, watering the leaves can actually reduce their fragrance. I would plant a few starter plants together to create a larger plant much sooner or if you are sowing seeds, several seeds close to each other. This way if you wish to divide the plant to use elsewhere (or give as a gift) you just dig it up carefully, and divide the plant at the roots. Take care that you don’t manhandle the roots too much as you can shock them or break them and your plant will have trouble recovering. Fertilize sparingly and do so with an organic such as blood meal or seaweed extract.

Woolly thyme

The smaller creeping varieties such as woolly thyme, elfin thyme or the creeping thyme² grow to about 4 inches tall. The woolly thyme actually looks a bit fuzzy with silvery leaves and pink flowers. The creeping thyme is denser with dark green leaves and darker pink blooms. The elfin thyme is much more compact and a bright green. There are many variations on these as well as some that are scented a bit differently than your typical thyme, such as the caraway thyme or lemon thyme. They are both useful in cooking, have a wonderful smell and great for garden concepts. A word of warning though bees LOVE thyme and when they are blooming, you will have many bees. But, fear not, typically bees are interested in what they can harvest, not in going after your tender fingers! I have worked among flowering plants for many years and can truly say I’ve only been stung once in the garden and that was due to my leaning against a pot that had a bee on it which caused it to sting me. All you need do is wave your hand gently to move them away and you can pick what you need OR wait until either the cool of the morning or evening and see if they are gone then pick what you need. It won’t be as much of a problem when the plant isn’t in bloom, but here in So Cal, they bloom pretty much all year.

Rock wall with Thyme

When using thyme in the garden remember that it doesn’t like wet feet, so be aware of where you place it. If you are using common thyme, it has good effect in Mediterranean gardens. It will also do well as a bit of interest when bordering a dry creek bed, or as a loose hedge. The lower growing thyme are good as ground covers between roses, along pathways, between flagstones even growing over rocks and in crevices.  I have used it on the backside of a rock waterfall to fill in the gaps between rocks and soil. It covered it beautifully in about a year and a half. You can use the woolly thyme as a lawn substitute if you really want to conserve water. Once thyme has established itself, it is a low water plant. If you use it as a lawn substitute be aware that when it blooms, it will be attracting bees which don’t always mix well with kids and animals! You may mow it occasionally just to keep the woodiness of the stems at a minimum. You can purchase flats (18" x 18" square) of the low growing thyme at many nurseries or in single containers.  The common thyme may come in 4” pots, 1 gallon or 5 gallon containers. I personally won’t purchase any herbs in anything larger than a 1 gallon container because some of them don’t transplant well at that size and you want it to acclimate easily.

When using thyme as a spice remove the leaves from the stems by holding the very top of the stem in one hand and using your fingernails, run them down the stem lightly against the growth pattern squeezing lightly to dislodge the leaves from the stems. You can use the whole stem and leaves in cooking such as soups, but you definitely want to remove them prior to serving the soup! Make sure the stems aren’t woody if you choose to use thyme this way.

Thyme is just a fun herb to grow. It is easy, looks pretty, smells wonderful and isn’t invasive so you can throw it in the garden and not worry. Use creeping thyme in a pot or on the edge of a planting wall so that as it grows it drapes over the edge is pretty and adds a soft touch to the area.

Soon it will be ‘thyme’ to plant your herb garden…. Enjoy your garden and all the creative ways you can use this herb in it.

Happy gardening!

Mary

¹ Rodale’s Illustrated Encyclopedia of Herbs

² Thymus praecox – Creeping thyme

  Thymus pseudolanuginosus – Woolly thyme

  Thymus herba-barona – Caraway-scented thyme

  Thymus x citriodorus – Lemon-scented thyme