Have you got the thyme?
Ok, so not THE thyme. But any thyme? Or lots of thymes? They’re like Pokémon - gotta catch ‘em all! (On that note so many plants are like Pokémon, so many collections to have!). But back to thyme. This little Mediterranean herb, which I would have thought wouldn’t love subtropical Brisbane, thrives in my garden, perhaps because of my sandy soil, or perhaps because it’s just a hardy, un-fussy legend of a plant. Give it full sun and a nice airy space, like the rocky mountainsides it grows in naturally, and off it goes!
Lemon thyme (Thymus citriodorus)
There are hundreds of species of thyme (Thymus) and on top of that probably hundreds more varieties and cultivars. The most common thyme is garden thyme (T. vulgaris), which tends to be what we default to when cooking, but all species are edible. Another popular one is lemon thyme (T. citriodorus) which has that famous lemon scent. It spreads more than garden thyme and doesn’t get as woody. There are creeping varieties (T. serpyllum), a.k.a wild thyme which get maybe a centimetre or two tall and are perfect for growing in between pavers (if you don’t have chickens, or creeping oxalis, which is very hard to weed out). It generally flowers in shades of lilac and purple but there is also a white variety. I have both but they are currently hanging out in pots to avoid aforementioned chicken/oxalis problems.
Creeping thyme (Thymus serpyllum) , with a smattering of pink salvia petals!
Other fun thymes include pizza thyme (T. nummularis), orange peel thyme (T. nitidus), and woolly thyme (T. pseudolanuginosus), all with common names that are handily descriptive.
The hairy leaves of woolly thyme (Thymus pseudolanuginosus)
While we tend to put thyme in cooking, it has a strong history as a medicinal herb. Its strong antimicrobial and antibacterial properties were used by the ancient Egyptians who added thyme to their embalming process and it has also been used to medicate bandages to prevent infection. One of the main components in thyme essential oil, Thymol, is even a key ingredient in Listerine mouthwash!
Next time you’re at your local nursery, grab a punnet of thyme and find a sunny spot (or even bung it in a pot you can move to chase the sun). It’s easy to look after and even if you aren’t a roast chicken with stuffing kinda person, I’m sure you’ll find a use for it. If nothing else bees love the dainty flowers and it might even provide them with a bit of antimicrobial help!
Garden thyme (Thymus vulgaris)