Plant Spotlight: Thyme

Tasty and elegant, thyme performs double-duty as an herb for cooking as well as a perennial for edging gardens and filling flower pots. Thyme symbolized courage for the Greeks and medieval European cultures. Romans drank thyme tea to cure melancholy. The taste of thyme likely won’t clear up emotional grey skies, but it is a pleasant addition in Mexican, French, Middle Eastern, Italian and Caribbean dishes.

Growing notes:

• Can tolerate some poor soil, but needs drainage. Add sand, bark and/or compost to heavy clay soil to grow thyme.

• Usually a perennial. Will die back with the first frosts of winter, but will return in the spring.

• Likes full sun until July/August in Georgia. I usually plant a bulb or annual (such as the Confederate Rose) that will shade it from the worst of the summer sun.

• Likes a haircut. Feel free to cut back your thyme to encourage more vigorous growth.