Hi Lorna, I've used several forms of creeping thymes. They do best when intermix. My favorites are lemon thyme, mother of thyme (wooly type),and the regular wild thyme. The lemon thyme with it's nice limey colour contrasts well with other plants such as thrifts and lavenders. However, I gave up on sowing thyme seeds. The results are so minimal. You best bet is to buy a couple of plants and divide it further into smaller pieces. They will grow relatively fast and be able to cover a large area within a year.

catmint needs to be contained otherwise it will run amok in the yard. Just a warning.

Lavenders will actually reseed and sprout in the same year. Growing it from seeds should be relatively easy. Just don't misidentify it as weeds because they do resemble weeds when they are seedlings

I have great luck with regular creeping thyme and lemon thyme. However, the one that blooms rose (coccineum variety) colored blooms gets big brown spots right in the middle, even when planted on a high and dry slope. I just let my husband mulch over the top of that one because it looks so bad. I have another one that is shaded under some other plants in moist soil looks fine. So, the coccineum rose-colored has me stumped with regards to full sun and drought.

I've never had a problem with nepeta faassenii (Walkers Low or Six Hills Giant) seeding out more than 1-2 seedlings over the last three years. They are easy to pull, too. I trim mine back after each bloom using hedge trimmers, but I can see how they might reseed if never trimmed.

Lavender (lavandula, not lavender cotton or santolina), IMHO and the opinion of the owner of a local lavender farm, is best propagated by cuttings, not seed.

Hidcote lavender is a really wonderful choice. You can harvest that one for different uses. You can take soft-wood cuttings and root them if you want more.

How timely! I just spent the morning planting some between stepping stones in the butterfly bed. I forget the name but it stays short and has pink flowers. I have some lemon thyme, too but it gets a little taller than I want around the stones so it is in another location.

Btw, variegated oregano looks nice along a path. I have it spilling over the rocks that line all my beds. It's very drought tolerant and needs little care. I usually cut it back when it starts to flower (about now) to keep it low. It dies back a bit in the winter but by Feb.-Mar. it is full and lush again. It's easy to dig out clumps of it and plant elsewhere.

Diana

This creeping thyme didn't have a name attached to it. It has pink flowers. The description said it has a lemony scent and can tolerate some foot traffic. I bought some wooly creeping thyme plugs a few years ago, but they didn't survive. Everything is a crapshoot in this climate!

I'll look into the oregano, Diana. It sounds good. My Walker's Low hasn't spread outside of its rock border or self-seeded. I do trim off dead flowers. The plant is five years old, and one of my favorites. I guess it will be okay, Ianna, if this other type of catmint does spread because I've got a lot of space to fill up. But I will keep your warning in mind, when I decide where to put the seeds.

I wonder if your brown spots on the thyme are where deer have urinated, Cameron? What do you think? If so, that will be a problem with this dog pack I have.

I don't have very good seed germination success unless I cover seeds with a thin layer of peat moss. The dark color of the peat also serves to mark the areas I've planted, so I don't forget where the seeds are.

I braised pork chops with lavender last night. The flavor was good. I looked up your lavender scone recipe, Cameron. I don't have the ingredients for that recipe in the house, but I'm going to experiment with my Cape Breton scones and lavender tomorrow morning. I bet lavender and currants will be a good combination. I sprinkle dried lavender buds on carpets, and I make lavender satchets. Right now I only have one lavendula, whose name I don't know.

Lorna

HerbLady - that is just stunning - would LOVE to have a garden like that - I have had mediocre success with a couple of the common thymes but in a couple of years they die out :( - do you add a lot of lime to the soil???? I have a lot of permatil in my soil where I plant them for good drainage. I am going to keep trying tho - that is beautiful - thanks for sharing......

Lynne

Common thyme is the only one I have, seed grown. I love the flavor.
I can see that I need lots of other thymes like the ones in herblady's beautiful pics.
I have this well drained space....

So many weeds, so little thyme -- where'd I put that catalog?

Nell

Thank you, Herblady, good advice and lovely photos/gardens. If the seeds won't germinate in temps above 90, I had better plant them as soon as they arrive. We're having monsoon season here, which means lots of cloud cover, thus cooler temps. As soon as the rainy season ends, temps will soar into the 90s for long periods.

Lorna

Hi Lorna,

I have creeping thyme and wooly thyme. The regular creeping time does much better for me and spreads really fast. I started with one 4 inch pot years ago and have given tons away and have had to chop back lots over the years. The wooly thyme spreads much slower and I don't find it as pretty when it flowers.

I have it planted around the edge of my side perennial bed. And yes there is lavender munstead planted with it. This is a very pretty combination....but both don't bloom at the same time.

I started lavender munstead from seed years ago. It has a speratic germination. Some pop up a lot faster than others....you just have to wait it out. This particular lavender, does not survive moving.....so if you are sprinkling seed right in the garden make sure that is where you want it. Also I found that this lavender dies out after several years and will need to be replaced. I don't know if it is the same with other lavenders or not.

Sierra

I have woolly thyme around stepping stones and it is so pretty. It does spread pretty well the second year for me.

the plants are kind of expensive here so I am waiting for a good sale to get some more. I love the stuff. I also want some other varieties.
Karen

Herb lady - that is stunning!! I can envision that in a corner of my yard!! Do you find it hard to keep weed-free?? I planted some orange-scented(the flowers) thyme, to spill over the edge of the west stone garden. They are coming along nicely, but I'll have to wait till next year for the flowers.

Nancy.

Lynne - I mulched in this area for years, so the soil was rich and loose. I added lime once before I planted.

Nancy - The thyme chokes out most of the weeds, but the ones that do come up are easy to pull out.

Most thymes are not long lived, but because they layer so nicely there are always plants to move around to fill in the blank spaces.

It sounds like the creeping thyme overwinters well. It probably does a pretty good job of self-seeding, doesn't it? I'm excited! I hope this plan works out!!

Lorna

I love my wooley thyme - it gives off an amazing sent. I also have red creeping thyme. Should I shear it down once it flowers or will that damage it? I didn't do that last year, but it wasn't so full last year.