Time for a thyme lawn?

Published 3:25 pm Thursday, December 27, 2007

Thinking about replacing the lawn with something that doesn’t require chemical life support? How about thyme.

The High Country Gardens catalog lists the best thymes for lawns: ‘Pink Chintz,’ ‘Reiter,’ ‘Woolly,’ and ‘Ohme Garden Carpet.’ ‘Ohme Garden Carpet’ is the super-vigorous creeping thyme that forms a thick weed-resistant groundcover at Ohme Gardens Arboretum in Wenatchee. To create some visual interest, plant different varieties.

High Country recommends limiting the thyme to a few hundred square feet; they’ve found smaller patches to be more attractive. Thyme needs full sun and well-drained soil. Once the thyme is established, the company says it’s better if the plants are too dry, than too wet. Well, that rules out my clay, water-soaked lawn, but if you’ve got the right conditions, it could be an interesting addition.