Thymus mastichina - Thyme

Thymus mastichina is better known to aromatherapy enthusiasts than to gardeners: its flowering tops are used to extract the essential oil which has well-known antiseptic and expectorant properties and is widely used to treat colds, sinusitis, and other bronchitis. This evergreen undershrub has small silver foliage that releases a complex, penetrating scent with resinous and camphor notes when crushed. It blooms in spring, with pretty round white inflorescences that have a fluffy appearance. For gardeners, it is both a valuable plant for arid areas that are difficult to vegetate and one of the gems of the herb garden.

Originally from the Iberian Peninsula, Spain, and Portugal, Thymus mastichina is a botanical species belonging to the Lamiaceae family. In nature, it is found in the central and southern parts of Spain, rooted in rocky and sunburnt arid places. In Portugal, it is called 'bela luz', which can be translated as 'beautiful light', probably due to the gentle and luminous aspect of its flowering. This thyme slowly grows into a small upright bush with a slightly spreading and airy habit. It reaches an average height of 35 cm (14in) and a spread of 30 cm (12in). Its branches bear small silver and persistent leaves that release a fresh and intriguing fragrance when crushed, with hints of licorice, eucalyptus, and turpentine. In May-June, small spherical inflorescences composed of tiny white flowers enclosed in very hairy calyxes appear at the top of the stems, giving the inflorescences a fluffy appearance. This flowering, like that of all plants in the Lamiaceae family, attracts numerous pollinating insects. It is extremely resistant to summer drought but perishes below -12°C (10.4°F).

Thymus mastichina is primarily a sun-loving and dry soil plant, valuable for seaside or Mediterranean gardens that are spared from severe frosts that can be fatal to it in poorly drained soil. It finds its place in rockeries, gravel beds, or even along pathways. It can be associated with other thymes, marjoram (Origanum majorana), lavender, savory, rosemary, teucrium, cistus, and other cotton lavenders to evoke the scrubland in an arid area of the garden. One of the charms of such arrangements lies in the scents emitted by all these plants after a hot day: they blend together in a complex fragrance to be enjoyed with closed eyes - intense, captivating, it embodies the quintessence of the Mediterranean countryside.