Thymus praecox Minor - Thyme

Thymus praecox 'Minor' is a particularly low and compact form of thyme. It is an excellent perennial groundcover for dry to arid areas with abundant summer flowering in pink-purple. The plant forms a very low, very dense carpet, pleasantly scented and evergreen in winter. It disappears in summer under a myriad of small honey-scented flowers. Ideal for rockeries or in the joints of slabs and walls, this creeping thyme grows slowly, but is tolerant of drought or cold, in well-drained and poor soil. 

Native to Western Europe, thyme belongs to the Lamiaceae family.  In the wild, it is found in dry and arid places, especially on limestone and sandy soils. The 'Minor' cultivar is the dwarf form of this medicinal and aromatic plant. This perennial plant has a very carpeting habit, and forms a very dense foliage mat 2 to 5 cm (1 to 2in) high and 30 to 40 cm (12 to 16in) wide. Its tiny oval, leathery, hairy leaves cover flexible, prostrate and rooting stems at the nodes, so that the plant spreads laterally over time. Numerous essential oil glands are visible under a magnifying glass on the leaves. Its scent is slightly less pronounced than that of common thyme, but more refined. Flowering occurs from June to July-August depending on the climate. Very small mauve flowers, grouped in dense whorls, bloom in spherical clusters at the ends of the 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, with a fundamental role, which plunges deeply into the soil or into cracks in rocks, and a superficial network of very long rootlets capable of capturing the slightest surface moisture. 

Thymus praecox 'Minor' is decorative all year round, and it is very hardy when planted in perfectly drained or even arid soil. Its dense carpeting habit makes it an ideal plant for elegantly filling joints in paving, cracks and the tops of walls, or the edges of a stone staircase, especially as it tolerates moderate trampling. It will dress the ground in a dry land plant bed such as with lavenders, rockroses, shrubby salvias, dwarf mugworts, cotton lavenders or rosemarys. It will thrive in a very sunny rockery, keeping company with Aubrieta canescens, gold or silver baskets. It is also used as a condiment; its fragrant leaves are highly appreciated in cooking. Used alone or in a bouquet garni, combined with Bay Leaf, Parsley and Rosemary, Thyme leaves flavour stews, sauces, marinades and court-bouillons. They are also used in infusions, renowned for relieving digestive ailments. A sun-loving plant, thyme can also be planted in a dry border or in a pot, which keeps it within easy reach near the kitchen…