Plant Primer: Creeping thyme

White Creeping thyme, creeping thyme

Light: full sun

Height: 1-2 inches

Spread: 10-15 inches

USDA Hardiness Zones:  5-8

Origin: Europe and North Africa

Talk about a sweetie! White creeping thyme (Thymus praecox ‘Albiflorus’) is a very low-growing plant that can stand foot traffic. This creeping thyme grows only an inch tall and spreads to create a dense mat of small, ovate, light-green leaves that, when crushed, fill the air with a delightfully spicy fragrance.

In early summer, delicate flowers about the size of a pencil eraser appear. The flowers cover the plant, masking the foliage, and look a bit like snow cover. White creeping thyme is a multipurpose plant that can be grown between flagstones, in containers, as a garden border edge, on a slope and even as a lawn substitute. It is adaptable, thrives in many garden conditions, and is even considered deer-resistant.

See white creeping thyme in the Paul Busse Garden Railroad at Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Garden. 

— Barbara Arnold

Franklin Park Conservatory

 

courtesy: https://www.dispatch.com/story/lifestyle/home-garden/2021/05/30/plant-primer-creeping-thyme/5208893001/