Thyme

I think I've mentioned before the difficulty I have planting up the 'walls' in the courtyard around the Grande Maison. Despite best attempts to improve it over the years, the shallow soil leaches away nutrients in no time, proceeds to bake in summer heat and has the water retention of a sieve. Last year it did OK with Nasturtiums. For a few weeks, 'Empress of India' took off, flowering profusely on it's starvation diet which nasturtium love, that is before the insect population of the world descended and devoured it in record time. Shame, could have been a beautiful thing.

My sister suggested that I plant Thyme. Sensible really, it's the perfect growing environment for a mediterranean herb and although I welcome it's culinery significance, I already grow it in a little herb 'area', I wasn't entirely convinced how it might look. Well todays visit to the garden section at supermarket E. Leclerc brushed aside any aesthetic fears I may have had as four varieties were on sale at just a euro fifty each. Decent sized pot too.



From left to right above, Thymus faustini, T. citriodorus 'Doone Valley', T. citriodorus 'Aureus' and another lemon thyme, 'Bertrand Anderson'. I brought thirty pots in total and spent an hour or so putting them in this afternoon. Do I need to tell you the smell is just terrific?



Of course I've fallen for thyme before. These pictured back in November are T. Preacox 'Snowdrift', a creeping variety. Sadly there's not much fragrance with this one but hopefully the late spring flowering should more than compensate for that as I'm reliably informed they're a mass of white flowers so watch this spot!