Thyme is a highly aromatic herb which has small lavender or pink flowers and is planted in the rock garden and the border for ornament, or in the herb garden, to be used for seasoning.

How To Grow

Thyme does best in full sun. Start from young plants set out in spring after the last frost and plant in well-drained soil. Add a slow-release fertilizer to the soil at or before planting and again each spring. Thyme must have excellent drainage. Mulching with limestone gravel or builder’s sand improves drainage and prevents root rot. Pinching the tips of the stems keeps plants bushy, but stop clipping about a month before the first frost of fall to make sure that new growth is not too tender going into the cool weather. Cut thyme back by one third in spring, always cutting above points where you can see new growth, never below into the leafless woody stem.

How/When To Harvesting

Harvest leaves as you need them, including through the winter in places where it is evergreen. Although the flavour is most concentrated just before plants bloom, thyme is so aromatic that the leaves have good flavour all the time. Strip the tiny leaves from woody stems before using.