Mother of thyme/creeping thyme

Discussion in 'Lawns' started by Dips, May 29, 2014.

  1. Dips

    Dips Total Gardener

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    So i really struggle with lawn up keep and because of my m.e i don't have the energy to cut it regularly. My lawn is also mainly moss and weeds rather than grass.

    Soon a fence will be replacing a hedge on the right side of my garden allowing me to add a flower bed. I will also be redoing my garden path and adding a lavender hedge either side of the path.

    This means the right side of the path will have quite a small lawn area left and i was considering replacing it with creeping thyme

    I have read it doesn't need regular mowing so would be much better suited to my illness but i would like to know if anyone has any experience of maintaing a creeping thyme lawn.

    I would love to know of the positives and negatives and what is involved in the upkeep

    Also if anyone has any other suggestions that would work and are really easy to look after that would be great. Minimal effort n very hardy are best for me but I'm not interested in artificial grass.
     
  2. Dips

    Dips Total Gardener

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    I forgot to add I would also love to hear from anyone if they have a camomile lawn as well as I am also considering that

    I'm tempted to do a mix of camomile and creeping thyme apparently together they create a lemony scent

    so yeh if anyone has experience of either i would really appreciate your thoughts
     
  3. JWK

    JWK Gardener Staff Member

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    Is there plenty of light or is it shaded? You'll need reasonable sunlight for success. Also you need to get it weed free before starting otherwise you'll spend all your time weeding. So best to kill off the existing lawn with roundup, then skim off the dead grass and cultivate just the top three inches, no more as you don't want to bring up weed seeds. Then wait three or four weeks in case a fresh batch of weeds appears, spray them off too.

    Both thyme and camomile can take a little bit of walking on, they won't stand up to heavy use though. They won't need mowing, depending which varieties you go for. I've used the species camomile which stays very low and has the bonus of flowers, and it's dead easy and cheap to grow it from seed. The camomile lawn most people talk about are non-flowering (a cultivar name 'Treneague' is most popular) and is lower growing and can take a bit more traffic, but is much more expensive to grow as you have to buy plants. Thyme is also easy and cheap to grow from seed and you can get a few different varieties to add to the colour and fragrance when walked on.

    The downside of growing from seed is it takes much longer, sowing this summer will get you some plants ready for next spring.

    The other good thing is they like poor soil, so do not feed nor is there any need to water (after the first year once established). If your soil is rich or regularly fed in the past, then skim off a few inches of soil before starting, otherwise grass will invade and will be very difficult to weed out.
     
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    • Dips

      Dips Total Gardener

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      Thank you so much jwk

      My soil isnt rich it wont have been fed for years as previous owners didnt do anything


      My garden is dead south facing so the lawn gets constant sun and the grass tends to go yellow in the summer and the moss that is the main part of the lawn is always yellow and dead looking

      Also there will be minimal walking on it as its just me and the cats

      What is the species of camomile you have as i would prefer a flowing one?
       
    • JWK

      JWK Gardener Staff Member

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      • Dips

        Dips Total Gardener

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