Creeping thyme
Thymus serpyllum · Lamiaceae Popular
A fragrant, ground-hugging mat that is covered in tiny flowers in early summer. It tolerates light foot traffic and softens the edges of paths and stones.
- Size
- 3 in tall, 18 in wide
- Zones
- 4 to 9
- Light
- Full sun
- Flowers
- Early June to mid July
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Carpet
A bed built around creeping thyme
The planner designed this bed around creeping thyme when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) English border in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 715 that suit those conditions and its dry soil, and says below why creeping thyme stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Creeping thyme × 11, pink
- 2 Cheddar pinks 'Firewitch' × 14, pink
- 3 Brown-eyed Susan × 3, yellow
- 4 Wild quinine × 5, white
- 5 Dwarf English boxwood × 1, dark green leaves
- 6 Eastern bee balm × 3, pink
- 7 Crocus × 5, purple
- 8 Hyacinth 'Delft Blue' × 7, blue
Why this plant
- The only dense clusters. The others are daisies, flat plates, globes and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
- A classic partner for Cheddar pinks 'Firewitch'. Both are on this plan. A pairing gardeners have proved outranks a general rule.
Why here
- On the front edge. At 3 in it frames the bed without hiding it, and it is in leaf all season. It finishes 70% of the edge.
- 11 plants in 3 runs (5, 3 and 3). Runs of different lengths make the edge a frame, not a ruled line.
- Beside Cheddar pinks 'Firewitch'. A recognised partner: the planner puts such plants together where it can.
Why now
- In flower for six weeks. From early June to mid July.
- Part of the bed's peak. With Cheddar pinks 'Firewitch' and eastern bee balm in early June: 3 kinds at once. No week has more.
- One of three evergreens. They are what the bed has to show from November to March.
Planned as an English border: 6 of the 6 groups (100%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. Pink runs through the planting: 3 of the 7 kinds grown for their flowers have it. Cheddar pinks 'Firewitch' and creeping thyme, recognised partners, are side by side.
The planner's own design check: 12 Excellent, 5 Good. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where creeping thyme goes in a border
At 3 in it belongs at the front of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is ground-hugging (up to 6 in).
Its job: carpet. A groundcover planted in threes and fives to cover the soil: along the front, and just behind it.
The lowest layer of a sunny planting: it hugs the ground and lets taller plants rise through it. It takes light foot traffic and releases its scent when stepped on.
- Between paving stones
- A scented carpet at the very front edge
- Hot, dry slopes
What to plant with creeping thyme
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- English lavender 'Hidcote': in flower together for four weeks, from late June; spires rising out of its mound; tall enough (18 in) to stand behind it.
- Blue fescue: its blue-green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; tall enough (10 in) to stand behind it; happy in the same dry soil.
- Sedum 'Dragon's Blood': in flower together for three weeks, from late June; happy in the same dry soil.
Choosing between it and a look-alike? Creeping phlox vs Creeping thyme.
Questions about creeping thyme
Does creeping thyme need sun or shade?
Creeping thyme grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day).
It wants dry, sharply drained soil, on the lean side, with no feeding, and little watering once settled. Once settled in, it stands drought.
What zones does creeping thyme grow in?
USDA zones 4 to 9. It is hardy to zone 4, which means it survives winter nights down to about −20 °F (−29 °C).
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does creeping thyme flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers early June to mid July. As a summer flower it moves about half a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer.
| Zone 4 | Mid June to mid July |
|---|---|
| Zone 5 | Early June to mid July |
| Zone 6 | Early June to mid July |
| Zone 7 | Late May to early July |
| Zone 8 | Late May to early July |
| Zone 9 | Late May to late June |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should creeping thyme be planted?
12 in (30 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 18 in (45 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 3 in (8 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many creeping thyme plants do I need?
At 12 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 12 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 11 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 38 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as threes and fives, along the front and just behind it.
In the bed above, the planner used 11 in three groups.
Is creeping thyme poisonous to dogs and cats?
No toxicity is recorded for dogs, cats, horses or people, according to NC State Extension.
"Not toxic" is not "edible": a pet that eats a lot of any plant can be sick.
Do deer eat creeping thyme?
Mostly not. NC State lists it as resistant to deer and rabbits. No plant is proof against a hungry deer in a hard winter, but this one is low on the menu.
What flowers after creeping thyme?
Creeping thyme is over by mid July. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Lilyturf: from early August to mid September, 16 in tall.
- Black-eyed Susan: from mid July to mid September, 24 in tall.
- Ornamental onion 'Millenium': from mid July to late August, 18 in tall.
What does creeping thyme look like in winter?
Creeping thyme keeps its dark green leaves all winter, so it is one of the plants that hold a bed together from November to March, when the perennials have gone.
Is creeping thyme good for bees and butterflies?
Creeping thyme is visited by bees and butterflies.
More Thymus
- Common thyme Thymus vulgaris
- Lemon thyme Thymus x citriodorus
- Red creeping thyme Thymus praecox 'Coccineus'
- Woolly thyme Thymus pseudolanuginosus
In these guides
- Salt-tolerant plants for roadsides and coasts
- Deer-resistant perennials for full sun
- Rabbit-resistant plants
- Drought-tolerant perennials for full sun
- Pet-safe plants for a sunny border
- Plants for butterflies
- Plants for bees
- Low plants for the front of a border
- Groundcover plants
- Evergreen perennials, ferns and grasses
Zone guides: Zone 4 · Zone 5 · Zone 6 · Zone 7 · Zone 8 · Zone 9
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial (groundcover)
- Size
- 3 in (8 cm) tall, 18 in (45 cm) wide
- Plant
- 12 in (30 cm) apart
- Height class
- Ground-hugging (up to 6 in)
- Place in the bed
- Front
- Flowers
- Early June to mid July; dense clusters; pink, purple
- Leaves
- Fine texture, evergreen; dark green
- Shape
- Mat-forming, spreading
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 4 to 9
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil
- Lean, dry and sharply drained
- Water
- Low
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Lamiaceae
- Comes from
- Northern Europe, Western Asia, and Northern Africa
- Attracts
- Bees, butterflies
- Stands up to
- Deer, rabbits, drought, salt, poor soil
Checked against NC State Extension. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.