Any thyme, any place...
The herb tastes divine – and just needs a sunny spot to flourish
ASMALL plant with very small leaves,’ ‘a low subshrub with narrow, aromatic leaves’ and ‘a herb with sweet-smelling leaves used to flavour foods’ – they are just some of the dictionary definitions I’ve found for a wellknown herb. All three are a little vague, but there are just about enough clues to figure out that they refer to common thyme.
Yet that aromatic kitchen staple is far from alone. In fact, there are more than 350 varieties of thyme, ranging from carpeting types to small, upright shrubs about 1ft tall.
Their leaves vary enormously in size, fragrance and the way they look, with a few really flashy ones that boast variegated foliage. Apart from their leaves, thymes have an added bonus – tiny flowers that appear in great profusion from late spring until late summer, depending on variety. Bog- standard culinary thyme ( Thymus vulgaris) produces bright pink blooms during May and June, while others have white, red or purple flowers.
The blooms aren’t just pretty. Thyme is on the RHS Plants For Pollinators list because its nectar-rich flowers are a magnet to bees. Due to its distinctive taste, rich aroma and amber colour, thyme honey has been revered since classical times and is still considered a cut above the rest by gourmets.
Summer is a great time to snap up plants. Set them in a sunny spot or replant into pots and they’ll form neat clumps that will provide a supply of tasty leaves. You don’t have to treat thymes as herbs – as they are evergreen, enjoy them for their ornamental looks all year.
A member of the lamiaceae family of plants, thymes are closely related to mint, oregano, rosemary and other plants that tend to have aromatic foliage. Native largely to hot, dry parts of southern and western Europe, they can be found in a wide range of locations, from rocky outcrops to dry grassland.
Botanists t hink common t hyme was brought to Britain by the Romans, who believed it had medicinal properties – thyme tea was used to treat sore throats, while soldiers would bathe in thyme-scented water to boost their bravery.
The plant soon naturalised in our countryside, especially in South East England. By the Middle Ages, thyme was part of our folklore. Sprigs were given to knights to bring them good luck in battle, and on St Luke’s Day in October, young women would spread a thyme-based paste over their bodies before going to bed in the hope that their future husband would be revealed in a dream.
Over the years, plant breeding has led to varieties that vary in appearance, along with the scent and flavour of their leaves. For example, T. x citriodorus tastes of lemon and the leaves of T. herba- barona smell of caraway. The aroma of all thymes is best on a sunny day when essential oils are released. Thymes prefer a sunny spot and free-draining soil. Mat-forming types are perfect in rock gardens, gravel gardens or set between cracks in paving – T. polytrichus subsp. britannicus and varieties of T. serpyllum can withstand foot traffic. Culinary thymes are ideal in a dedicated herb garden, set 12in apart.
Another option is to raise thymes in containers. Start them off in 6in pots filled with loam-based John Innes No 1 compost, adding extra grit to enhance drainage. I prefer to use terracotta pots rather than plastic, as terracotta ones tend to dry out more quickly, preventing roots from becoming soggy.
These plants don’t require feeding but will benefit from the occasional drink, even though they are drought- tolerant. Keep them compact and looking tidy by trimming lightly in summer once the floral display is over.