Thyme to grow!
At BBC Gardeners’ World Live, we caught up with Plant Expert Lucy Chamberlain for some top tips.
If you’re looking for an attractive, versatile herb to grow in the garden, look no further. With over 200 varieties to choose from, thyme is a great herb to add to your kitchen garden, producing white, pink of lilac coloured flowers throughout the summer. Read below to find out how to grow thyme at home, with some help from our friends at BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine, and for Lucy’s tips on what to do once your plants have flowered.
How to grow:
A Mediterranean plant, thyme grows well in the full sun, in well-drained soil. Some varieties of the herb can be planted in gravel gardens, paving cracks, or pots which can be brought indoors in autumn time.
Thyme plants thrive in drought conditions and won’t need watering once established.
Make sure to plant in a sunny spot – this brings the essential oils to the surface of the leaves, for maximum flavour.
An evergreen perennial, thyme leaves can be picked all year round. You can use it straight from the garden in your cooking, or dry it out to store.
As thyme is used to dry conditions, you may want to bring your plants indoors in the winter time to avoid losing any plants, especially in wet weather. Avoid watering them and be sure to pot them back outside in spring.
Trimming back
In the summer, thyme plants bloom with beautiful flowers, that attract plenty of buzzing wildlife.
Once the flowers begin to fade, trim them back so that the flowers grow back the following year. Make sure to cut back the plant to continue your harvest through autumn. If thyme plants are left alone to grow, they may become woody and eventually need replacing.
