In the past I've purchased several different types of groundcover thyme plants, at the time I had a very small garden. I used Coconut, Elfin, Sliver and one just labeled creeping.
Now I have a large area I want to cover, I can't affort to plug the whole area and really don't want to wait for a few plugs to spread.
I wonder if any of you have had luck with low-growing thyme from seed?
If so what varieties do you recommend and where did you purchase your seeds?
Thanks in advance
Dovey
Gowing Thyme from seed?
I haven't grown any low growing thyme from seed, but I've started English thyme from seed with good results. I've ordered from Richter's many times (seeds and plants) and always been happy. They have Magic Carpet Lemon Thyme listed on their web site as the lowest growing ground cover thyme that can be grown from seeds. It sounds like it would fit your requirements... Has any one out there had any experience with this variety?
http://www.richters.com/Web_store/web_store.cgi?product=X6462-600&cart_id=2938850.28496
Cool I just ordered a package of seeds.
There is a corner off to the side of my rose garden I want to naturalize with Jonquils and Summer Cheer Daffodils and I needed a non-grass ground cover.
Thanks for the link, wish me luck
Dovey
good luck Dovey!
That's a beautiful garden you've developed. I love the layout! I bet those roses will be blooming profusely in a couple of months. French Valley is in Southern Ca, near San Diego? So you've been getting lots and lots of rain lately... Send some of it our way, would you? I'm having to water my daffodills this year for the first time ever. Usually, I'm digging little trenches so the beds drain properly.
Portia
Wow, you know Southern California... Oh-boy, oh-boy we have had rain! I would love to send some your way *S*
We just moved from San Diego to French Valley.
What a change from the city, I just love it.
(forgive me for sounding like a city gal) but I looked out my window this morning and saw a racoon scuuring along my fence, I was so excited. Wildlife, how cool is that?
Dovey
I just wanted to add that I also ordered seeds for an ebay seller as well as from the site you listed.
Wow, I am totally impressed with Penny on Ebay, she is fantastic. Seeds arrived fast, she included planting instructions and a complementary packet of wild flower seeds too.
Right now she sells: Wildflower, Garden Flower, Herbs, Flowering Vine and Passion Flower seeds.
Look for Ebay seller ID: pburem
[HYPERLINK@stores.ebay.com]
Dovey
I have gotten seeds from her about 5 times and always been very pleased. Also groco seeds on Ebay...they have just about everything you could want in large quantities for pennies. I have had good luck with Wuvie too but the prices are much higher.
I have grown several varieties of thyme from seed and they have all done well here near the Connecticut shoreline (Z6a). For covering large areas, Thymus vulgaris seems hardiest. If it gets too large, I just run the lawnmower over it at a high setting. For walkways, Mother of thyme (T. serpyllum, wild thyme, etc) is lower and hardly ever needs cropping. I got some seeds from Pinetree in Maine which worked well. I just orderd some Magic carpet lemon thyme seed from Richter's, and will report on that when/if it does well.
Some of the best thymes for walkways (Elfin, Minus, etc) must be vegatively cloned and are not available from seed.
With those thymes that can't be grown from seed, I've had very good luck purchasing 2 inch potted plants and putting them into window boxes (just those cheap plastic ones) filled with a good potting mix plus some moisture crystals & a little Osmocote fertilizer for good measure. When they're in a pot right under my nose, it's easy to coax the little branches to layer (eg, grow new roots from the stem) along the surface of the soil mix, pushing them under the surface slightly here & there, or pinning them down in places with little rocks etc. Before I know it, the plant has filled the container, and then I can easily break apart nice large clumps for planting out. I'm doing this now... I have 2 kinds of T. praecox in a 30" windowbox, and when they've filled it up I will transplant most of it around my patio... I may leaves a couple of little clumps in the windowbox to repeat the process.
I literally adore thyme and left 5 or 6 varieties in the ground when I left NC 15 years ago. It seems almost impossible to grow here in NE Florida. I have one terra cotta pot "On it's side" that has enough spilling out to make Cock au Vin once or twice a month.
That recipe alone is reason enough to grow this herb.
;)
OK Sugar,
give it up... what's your recipe?
dovey, I covet your garden. Could you please ship it intact to Texas? Thank you.
Take one cut up fryer and salt and pepper well, make a gash in the thigh and drumstick as to make them easier to cook evenly. Brown all pieces well in 2T butter or I use olive oil. After browning well add about 4 sprigs of fresh thyme (I strip the tiny leaves off the woody stems) or about 1/2 teaspoon dry thyme.
Add 2 bay leaves and 4 cloves of fresh garlic with the skins on, but smashed. Add 1/2 to 1 cup dry white wine (Chardonnea, Pink chablis, etc), cover and simmer on low heat for 45 mins.
remove chicken from pan, add 1 or 2 T of margarine or butter and a dab of water & stir to make light sauce. Serve with Angel Hair or fine noodles.
Last week I made it with skinless boned chicken breast.
Leaving the skins on the garlic gives a sweeter and lighter flavor and of course remove bay leaf.
I also remove garlic, squeeze it from the skins and mash it with some margarine for a spread between slices of french bread I heat in the oven while I'm boiling the noodles. This and a green salad is a fine meal.
Original recipe from Pierre Varni.
Please excuse my poor spelling.
;)
Edited to correct amounts of thyme
This message was edited Jun 29, 2006 11:15 AM
brigidlily,
What a sweet thing to say... but no! *LOL*
Thanks for the compliment
Dove
Sounds yummy sugar...
Since I started this thread I have grown oodles of thyme
I can't wait to try your recipe
Thanks
Well, I guess I'm no worse off. Gave it a shot! But it's really, really mean of you not to send it to me. ;p
Actually, I moved into my house just over a month ago, and the back yard is pretty much a blank slate. I'd decided on a 20' round herb garden just to the left of the middle, but I really do like the way you set out your beds. I'm rethinking what I want to do. Plenty of solarizing and composting time to think about it in, luckily! Thanks for the inspiration! I've sketched out something of a combination; I'm not happy with it yet, but I will be. With your layout, you could expand. Hmmm... mental wheels turning...
Edna Walling was my garden muse.
There is a site will many of her garden designs
http://abc.net.au/walling/
Of course I don't live on a hundred acre estate, but what she does is brilliant and I tried to apply some of her kind of beauty in my little tract home garden.
Keep those wheels turning, you can plant a garden or you can create a garden
here is a better link
http://abc.net.au/walling/keywords/herbgarm.htm
dovey, can't wait to see it all in bloom. what a wonderful design! I will check out your Edna Walling link.
gram
Thanks for the links, dovey!
I just went back and read my original post (what a novel idea)
Well heck, I started the thread over a year ago.
Any-who,
I did plug a little bit of the area with some creeping thyme and I also scattered seeds.
I especially like the Elfin Thyme seed, the new growth is obviously thyme and there is no way you could mistake it for a weed.
The amazing thing is how durable it is, takes very little water or soil to grow.
Unfortunately I can't find a photo showing the thyme and daffodils.
But here is a photo of one naturalized area I took last April.
What a beautiful picture! I have just planted some thyme from seed about a week ago and nothing has come up yet. I can only hope to have a garden as lovely as yours :)
Thank you Katym,
Once even a little bit of it roots, it spreads and fills in very well.