A tiny ground hugging little thyme, perfect for growing in small areas in the patio, the tiny purple flowers in summer are loved by bees. 9x9cm pot (8cm depth)
Description
- Loved by bees
- Mound forming
- Creeping perennial
- Tiny leaves
A tiny little thyme that forms a thick mat of foliage and looks very attractive when the little purple flowers bloom in summer, it is a bit of a slow grower and suited to smaller areas, containers, cracks in walls, patios and rockeries. In common with other thymes, the flowers are alight with foraging bees and butterflies in the summer.
Plant care
- Height: Creeping
- Type: Hardy
- Aspect: Sun
- Soil: Well drained
- Flower colour: purple
- Flowering period: June - August
Thyme is a plant that just has to be in full sun – it can never really be too hot for this pretty herb, the more sun the better. It also needs a well-drained soil and flat growing creeping thymes like this are perfect for cracks in paving, patios, walls, pots and rockeries which are all free draining. Initially it will have to be watered if the weather is dry until established, but after that it should creep around nicely on its own. Most thymes are pretty hardy and cope well with frosts, it is the wetness and lack of light over winter that can finish them off. If you have one growing in full sun between one and seven in the afternoon in summer that’s fantastic, but direct sun is reduced to about three hours in winter and generally it just isn’t enough.
Usage
Many of these tiny creeping thymes don’t have the full bodied flavour of regular thyme and are also difficult to harvest and so not much used for culinary or medicinal purposes. They do however form a carpet of ground cover in sunny spots which erupt into bloom around July and are a hive of activity for pollinating insects, bees and butterflies.