Thymus citriodorus Bertram Anderson - Lemon Thyme

Thymus citriodorus 'Bertram Anderson' is a variety of lemon thyme with a bushy and spreading habit, adapted to dry and poor soils, which is particularly decorative with its evergreen and glossy foliage, strongly variegated with yellow, exuding a beautiful lemon aroma. This perennial forms lilac to pink flowers in late spring or summer. Used as a herb, it is also a very pretty rockery or sunny border plant. It is essential in dry and rocky gardens, where the soil is thin and does not retain moisture.

Thyme 'Bertram Anderson' is a horticultural creation derived from Thymus x citriodorus. The origin of the latter is controversial, with some botanists considering it as a hybrid of Thymus vulgaris (the thyme of our scrublands), while others consider it as a separate species called Thymus serpyllium var. citriodorus. Whatever the case may be, 'Bertram Anderson', like its ancestors, is a medicinal and aromatic plant from the family Lamiaceae (or Labiatae), native to southern Europe and North Africa.

This variety has a spherical and spreading habit, almost prostrate and branched.  It forms a foliage carpet 10 to 15 cm (4 to 6in) high and 30 to 40 cm (12 to 16in) wide. Its small oval and toothed foliage, variegated with yellow, covers root-like woody base stems, so that the plant spreads slowly.  Its golden colour is more pronounced in summer, while in winter it appears brownish. Numerous essential oil glands are visible under a magnifying glass on the 1 cm (0.5in) long leaves. Flowering occurs from June to July-August depending on the climate. Tiny tubular and bilabiate flowers in pink-purple or lilac colour bloom in cymes on the current year's shoots, attracting many pollinating insects. Like many Mediterranean plants adapted to drought, thymes develop a double root system, consisting of a central taproot which sinks deep into the soil or into rock crevices, and a superficial network of very long rootlets capable of capturing the slightest surface moisture.

Lemon thyme 'Bertram Anderson' is decorative all year round and very hardy when planted in a perfectly drained or even arid soil. Its very bright, almost golden foliage sets it apart from other culinary plants.  Plant it in a dry plant bed, with plants such as lavender, cistus, shrubby salvias, dwarf mugworts, cotton lavenders, or rosemary. It will thrive in a very sunny rockery, with Aubrieta canescens, golden or silver baskets, teucrium, and creeping ceanothus. It is also used as a herb; its fragrance of the scrubland is highly appreciated in cooking. Used alone or in a bouquet garni, combined with laurel, parsley, and rosemary, thyme leaves flavour stews, sauces, marinades, and court-bouillons. They are also used in infusions, known to relieve digestive ailments. A plant that loves full sun, thyme can also be planted in a dry border or in a pot, which allows it to be kept close at hand near the kitchen...