Creeping Thyme, also known as Mother-of-Thyme, is an herb which makes a fragrant carpet (tolerant of a moderate amount of foot traffic) and can provide a breath-taking display of color during bloom full sun and average, rocky or sandy soil.

For home owners who desire a natural carpet in their yard space that is much more ecologically friendly than a lawn, Creeping Thyme is a worthy selection. It’s beloved by bees and butterflies, provides shelter for small moths, as well as critical scavenger and hunting beetles, and needs just an occasional high mowing (once a year after maturity is reached) to keep it quite stately.

Creeping Thyme is also excellent for border gardens or as an edging on hugel mounds, and can help protect minor bee sites from erosion, as well as encourage them to nest in a previously eroding site.

Of course, while Creeping Thyme is more often used for the flower garden than for the kitchen, it still goes almost without saying that it can be used in the same manner that culinary Thyme is used.

Care:

Thymus serpyllum thrives in soils that drain well, particularly sandy or rocky soils. We have grown it with some success in clay soil, but it’s more prone to have stems which die back in a clay soil and it fairs much better in partial shade when in such a soil (clays can dry out too frequently for Thyme in the full sun).

Either way, avoid low lying areas that tend to puddle, as the roots will rot in such conditions. A border, mound edge, or level/sloped lawn area with good drainage are all ideal spots for Creeping Thyme.

Creeping Thyme spreads via horizontal growth that roots out, so if you would desire your Thyme to spread, periodically remove any weedy growth that may impede it’s stems from rooting out, and you’ll have a great amount of success.

Occasionally, stems will become damaged via weather, insect or, rarely, foot impact and can be pruned away to keep an optimum appearance. For those who wish to replace lawn space with Creeping Thyme,

high mowing after the flowering period is over is ideal.

Creeping Thyme does not generally require mulching, and will stay green throughout the winter in areas with a relatively mild winter, where it is most suitable as a lawn substitute (not uncommon in Zones 7 and 8 to enjoy this). Thyme can be split every 3 to 4 years.

Photo Credit:
Jason Hollinger
David Stang