I have just spent several days crawling around restoring an old paved path.
Its looking good except for the gaps between the stones, obvious answer
would be lift them and redo the whole path but that is not an option so I
have decided that thyme would be good, which would be the best variety to
use in that situation, low growing presumably but more advice would be
appreciated

kate

On 07/08/2010 11:49 AM, Kate Morgan wrote:
I have just spent several days crawling around restoring an old paved
path. Its looking good except for the gaps between the stones, obvious
answer would be lift them and redo the whole path but that is not an
option so I have decided that thyme would be good, which would be the
best variety to use in that situation, low growing presumably but more
advice would be appreciated

Hi Kate,

A friend has a flagstone deck, the cracks are filled with creeping
thyme, just generic thymus serpyllum I think. It's lovely stuff, tough
as old boots (they have kids) and gives off a wonderful scent when you
walk across it. HTH.

-E

On 08/07/2010 10:49, Kate Morgan wrote:
I have just spent several days crawling around restoring an old paved
path. Its looking good except for the gaps between the stones, obvious
answer would be lift them and redo the whole path but that is not an
option so I have decided that thyme would be good, which would be the
best variety to use in that situation, low growing presumably but more
advice would be appreciated

kate

Also have a look at Corsican mint (Mentha requienii), very low growing,
tiny leaves and smells wonderful.
Jill

Jill, 'The Sheds' have a very nice, prostrate growing golden thyme
labelled not-too helpfully 'Golden Thyme'. The one knocked out by B&Q
in their 'herb collections' is usually 'Archer's Gold' and its a
marvellous, colourful and fragrant mat former that withstands cold
winters and heavy clodhoppers with almost equal and surprising
alacrity. The small clusters of pale lavender flowers don't show up
too well, but the bright foliage will help you to forgive that
failing.

It's well worth hunting around a bit for Thymus serpyllum 'Pink
Chintz' too. Luckily, this variety seems to be quite widely available
and forms a neat matt that erupts into a foaming mass of bright pink
in early summer. You may feel tempted by those with deep red flowers,
but you need to be on your knees to appreciate the colour, so these
are probably best planted in raised beds. Pink or white flowers are
best for viewing from a non-stooping position.

When planting, it's best incorporate a couple of spadefuls of coarse
sand or grit into the soil plus a sprinkling of bonemeal. Top off with
a layer of grit, worked amongst the stems to prevent water-logging in
winter.

On 8 July, 18:00, Dave Poole wrote:
Jill, '.....

Erm, sorry, no I meant Kate. It's an age thing y'know!

Emery Davis wrote:
A friend has a flagstone deck, the cracks are filled with creeping
thyme, just generic thymus serpyllum I think. It's lovely stuff, tough
as old boots (they have kids) and gives off a wonderful scent when you
walk across it. HTH.

Nick has just bought an apple thyme, which smells lovely, but I can't vouch
for its toughness.

"Dave Poole" wrote in message
...
On 8 July, 18:00, Dave Poole wrote:
Jill, '.....

Erm, sorry, no I meant Kate. It's an age thing y'know!

Oh don't worry Dave, I know about the age thing only too well, sometimes I
have to lie thro my teeth when a visitor asks me the name of a plant and I
cannot remember :-)

However, Thank You everyone for the response to my query, I have lots to
think about, there are several paths so maybe I could try more than one
variety :-) now I am thinking about having a polytunnel but that's another
story to come another time

cheers all

kate

Kate wrote:

Oh don't worry Dave, I know about the age thing only too well, sometimes I
have to lie thro my teeth when a visitor asks me the name of a plant and I
cannot remember :-)

Erm the worst bit is when you start waxing lyrical about a favourite
plant of the moment, caressing the leaf or lifting the flowers,
describing its virtues and then realise mid-flow that for the life of
you, you can't remember the name. Which of course poses the question
of whether it is a genuinely favourite plant. It requires some pretty
skilful, verbal back-pedalling and I don't always get away with it :-|