How to Design a Thyme Herb Garden

Common in English herb gardens since before the 16th century, the herb thyme comes from the Greek word meaning "to fumigate." The English obviously knew the meaning of the word when they designed formal thyme gardens intended to delight the senses with the sweet pungent aroma of the herb.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Design a thyme herb garden with lots of room for the thyme to grow. Thyme will not thrive in a small area. Make the beds large enough to work in when dividing plants and mulching.

2. Select a location that has light, dry soil and no excess moisture. Thyme will climb, so near a rock wall is acceptable. The drier the soil the more aromatic the thyme will be.

3. Expect the thyme to come back every year since it is a hardy perennial. Thyme grows slowly so plan on starting seeds early or buying rooted plants.

4. Design a unique shape for your thyme garden, like the octagons or circles of formal English gardens. Line the paths with bricks, creek pebbles or flagstone in geometric patterns. Mimic the same pattern around the entire thyme garden.

5. Add benches or other seating areas in the thyme garden to encourage sitting and breathing in the aromas of various thymes throughout the garden.

6. Include lemon thyme, also known as garden thyme, in an English-style garden. This thyme is originally from the mountains of Spain and is most fragrant when planted from cuttings or roots.

7. Design individual sections of the garden for the many thymes available such as silver thyme, lavender thyme, orange thyme and caraway thyme. These unique varieties can be enjoyed as oils, flavorings or teas.

Tips & Warnings

• Divide old clumps of thyme every spring and replant to expand the thyme herb garden.