Great Groundcovers: Creeping Thyme (Thymus serpyllum) 

A lady gave me a tiny chunk of this Thyme years ago, from her lake house. I took it home, planted it at edge of my flower bed, next to the rock border, and 6-7 years later it’s spread all way around my flower bed border. It crawls over the rocks, it’s like a big sponge. The first few years I just cut out a few patches and planted them along the border. By far the hardiest, easy to grow plant ever.

I tossed some seed around the yard several years ago, it's growing wildly now in sunny areas, every year spreads a little more. Never needs mowing. In full bloom it's full of bees and butterflies, I often just sit there and watch them all. At the same time I tossed some other groundcover seeds around, the creeping thyme was the one that really took off.

The Thyme Walk that Charles has been establishing for decades at Highgrove House is my favorite - the smell, the insect life, the ground cover, the aesthetics🪴

Thank you so much for the explanations and demonstration in this video👍I researched for a non-invasive, pollinator-friendly, mosquito-repelling ground covering that will flourish in my area (zone 6b) and landed on creeping thyme. I have purchased seeds in different colors and my goal is to transform the lawn strips between the sidewalk and street and a majority of the front yard with them (wildflowers, herbs, and alliums for the rest). The neighbor lady told me I was welcome to also transform her lawn into creeping thyme. I mow her lawn and ours (she is elderly) and my hope is to eventually stop mowing altogether and just have a very low maintenance pollinator paradise. 🤞

This plant showed up in my yard on its own 3 years ago and its so nice, its spread so much across the garden bed.

This native plant reminds me of our sun-filled summer holidays in the European countryside when we used to roam the open fields, back in the '90s. This plant was everywhere, the scent is unforgettable.

Just started planting my 9 piece set-can't wait to see how they spread!

Good thyme seeds beyong culinary thyme are hard to find. But if you manage to do it, it's the best way to grow it fast. For couple years I tried to propagate thyme by division and cuttings and it was slow growing plants. For some reason seedlings make 2-3 times for green mass than cuttings especially first year.

Glad I found your channel here, sharing it in the Q&As on the Q. People were asking how to find you. Great job Devin 👏

You are awesome! Thank you for sharing your knowledge!

Thanks for the video!😊👌

thank You soooo MucH for your awesome info ~& energiie 🌿🌿 much Love ✨🥀

Thank you great tip😁

Great video boss. Keep it up.

Came looking for creeping thyme and found this beautiful man who loves plants!!? Is this real?

I put some of this thyme in a pot with my mini roses and they love each other. It cascades beautifully over the edge. I'm now looking to split it off in to other regular size rose pots and see how they do

Thank you. I’m considering planting it in my gravel driveway to create beauty and keep out the weeds…

I love it. Unfortunately I tried planting some of the creeping thyme between stepping stones, The lawn service thought they were weeds and killed them all. 🤣🤣🤣😭

Well, we have plenty of sun here in Central Texas. Just found out about this tonight and this was the first thing to come up.

I have an area on a slope that had rocks, basically a white rock bed. I took up many of these rocks and put them around an above ground pool. After many, many days and hours, there are still rocks in this bed. I am thinking of putting ground cover similar to this. Will they grow with the rocks? Or does it need good clean soil? The soil is kind of sandy...I live near the Gulf. Thank you and I really enjoyed your video and suggestions.

What other ground cover plants would go well with creeping thyme? Great video!

Im in the process of planting plugs all over the small cemetery attached to my property. Less mowing and good for bees

thanks a lot , lot thyme . I got a slope pretty steep and trying to find ways to stop weeds growing and was looking at planting creeping thymes , rosemary, mondo grass, .. but fo the two years before those plants take over the ground what will you recommend a weed cloth or more ecologically friendly cardbaords?? was thinking cardboard but not sure how to keep mulch on top of it and not falling down the slope :(( Am in Italy with four seasons slope is very sunny and at time windy , Thanks Francois PS any recommendation of good creeping perennial plants

Hi Devin! I just found your channel and I love it! I was looking for ground cover to replace my thirsty lawn in Southern California. Would this be a good lawn replacement on a slope? Can it fill in quickly? Will it tolerate heat and drought conditions? (We're running out of water here) Do you have any suggestions for a fast growing, drought tolerant lawn replacement? Thank you very much!!

How do I grow this from seeds? I am in zone 5B. Thank you

Thank you for this video. Not sure the best time to plant. I'm in zone 4a (Calgary Canada). Any suggestions?

Thinking of planting these between my fence line and sidewalk that faces west (Zone 5). Would these or a hardy sedum or both I guess be a good ground over for an area like that? Currently just rock and lots of weeds.

Hello Devin I was suggested to use creeping red thyme as a ground cover I am in South Florida zone 10B where mostly Nov-May hardly ever rains but still very Humid and most of the summer rains either all day or a few hrs of the day would you recommend using this as a ground cover as I don't have much lawn and really don't want to mow grass thanks!

hey! can you show us how your creeping thyme look like right now? good video!

I've got a few quarts of creeping thyme and creeping phlox coming. I just wonder how long it'll take for it to spread. I have clay soil that I mulched heavily with wood chips. My plan is to steadily open some of that up, move the mulch to be more birm-like around the fruit trees, and let creeping thyme/phlox spread. I found your video because I want to figure out how to best get the most coverage and spreading of this stuff. Can't find a clear answer on how to best spread it.

Will this choke out other perennials? Looking for a ground cover instead of mulch in a very new bed. Hoping to add annuals next year too. Just done with mulch!

I recently had trees removed and the process removed the grass from a large portion of my front yard. I would like to plant creeping time instead of grass in the bald spots, but how can I prepare the ground? I live in Georgia so it's mostly clay like dirt in my yard.

Do you have any recommendations for ground cover that can be planted in a wooded area without much light to choke out some of the weeds? We are currently fighting off some invasive weeds and shrubbery but there very little light. It's on a hill so drains fairly well.

An article I read on creeping thyme advised to prune it back to 1/2 inch in the spring to encourage new blossoms. Is there a lazy way to do this like with a lawn mower?

What is the fastest growing/spreading ground cover perenial that I can plant around the banks of my pond so I do not have to mow grass around the pond ? The pond bank is a sunny area with good drainage ...I would prefer something that I can just throw a bunch of seeds down on the dirt of the pond bank and I would not need me to water it regularly for it to take root/ spread Ty

You mentioned it's ideal for them to be in full sun. Do you know of any that will be ok in partial sun to shade? My front yard is a slope and I want something that looks nice but isn't grass or mulch/stones. Zone 5

While doing research on a plant I've been taking care of I came across creeping thyme. In the photo I saw it was growing up a wall but it was very blue probably photoshopped but thought I'd ask anyway if this stuff does grow up walls and if there is a blue variety. I'm new to plants

I got my creeping thyme seeds in late for my zone (5B) and they're currently about an inch-ish high. Any idea whether they'd survive the winter? I have some peat pots to bring some in for the winter, but not for all.

Great video, but I have a few questions... 1) Can I plant in an area that already has grass and have it push out/take over the grass, or do I have to first take the grass out? 2) Will it crowd out other vegetation if I also want to have an on-ground vegetable garden? 3) How difficult is it to pull up to till if I choose to use a space it's taken over? 4) How child friendly is it? Thank you :-)

So what would you suggest ground cover plants for tropical environments?

Do you think would grow well in a rock bed? 1-3" rock size. Maybe I should just throw seed? Thoughts?

I'm looking for grass alternatives for my lawn. Will this be a good idea and can it handle people walking on it ?

We are replacing our front lawn with red creeping thyme. Do we need to rip out the whole lawn and leave gaps or will it still spread if we just plant it within the lawn? If we need to take the grass completely out, if we lightly mulch between the plants will that affect the growth and spread of the thyme?

What's the difference between creeping thyme and lemon thyme? Is lemon thyme also good for creeping ground cover? I have not been able to find creeping thyme but I am seeing lemon thyme in the stores.

Could you pull out the plants from the tray and lay it down like sod? Not saying it’s cost effective but could it be done?

Any recommendation where I can buy the tray of creeping thyme you showed in the video?

Can you recommend a high traffic ground cover?

Where should the crown sit when you plant? At soil level? slightly above soil level?

Will this grow in Baja California Sur Mexico? Have a catio with malla Sombra shade mesh over it because otherwise it's boiling hot. Had st. Augustin there but it died out and looking for something hardier but not having the sun shade over the catio would turn it into an oven. It allows a low sun filtered by the shade thing look up malla Sombra if you need to know what that means

What hardiness zone are you located for planting this ? Chicago is cold!

I planted creeping thyme around some stone bordering at my house based on some advice found on Reddit, but later started to be concerned that my area my not be conducive for it. We are in zone 6a but with a LOT of rainfall (~90 inches). I'm guessing it's going to be too wet but we'll see. An alternative I've seen is Caucasian stonecrop. I would be curious to hear your opinion.

Will Creeping thyme survive in zone 3 area? i have a slope garden bed that i am looking to cover

I ordered the Roberta's 6 piece Trample Me Thyme ground cover from QVC...I live in South Carolina (Red Clay Soil)n and need some kind of ground cover in the backyard by the fence - NOT a Lot of sun...will this be the right thing ?? Or would you recommend something else ?? I also need something Safe for pets as I have 3 German Shepherd Dogs....NOT really sloping and Does get a lot of shade.... HELP !!!!

Ugh I wish this was possible to plant in zone 9b. I’m still researching, but it’s so hard to find things that will thrive in central Florida.

Is Creeping Thyme ok for clay soil and a lot of sunlight? I need something like this, a creeping low to the ground cover that is attractive that can grow in clay soil without a lot of water ( I live in CA where we are have had years of drought ) and can take a lot of sun. Any suggestions?

The area I want to use this on is full of river rock. Can I just plant in between the river rock or should I clean all the rock out of the area?

Hello, how is the creeping thyme growing? Can you upload some photos to show the progress? Thanks!

Do you have a video about your raised bed in this video?

When i buy my 1st house, im definitely replacing my lawn as id love a garden free of invasive species, including grass

Hello，is it normal for thyme turning red and purple during winter time，and no any fragrance

I want to plant something to crowd out the creeping Charlie in my stone border around the brick patio.

How do you water it once established? What kind of annual maintenance is required if any (pruning, winterization etc)? I am in zone 6.

Any recommendations where to buy seeds? AMZ sells but the reviews aren’t the best.

Can this be used in zone 10b?

How do you grow them from seeds? Thank you

We are thinking about replacing our grass lawn with more drought and heat-tolerant ground cover. I have a couple of questions if you do not mind. 1. Would we need to remove the grass first, or would it be possible to add some creeping thyme to the lawn and hope that it will eventually take over the lawn. ' 2. We have a section of our lawn that is right up against our neighbor's lawn. How invasive is thyme? Any suggestions for creating some sort of barrier? Thank you for your thyme!

Where can you find the seeds to grow these? Can you find the plants a garden centers?

would this be able to survive winter in the mountains of southern california?

Is it good for cooking and seasoning?

What are its water needs?

Is it monsoon hardy? Where I live, there's three months of monsoon :(

So i have stubborn weeds. I’m nervous about planting 50 of these as my lawn alternative and then my weeds making all my work go to waste.

can any type of thyme be used?

I tried to save some $$ by buying from seed, but ended up with a very different creeping thyme. Anyone know how to find seeds for the variety in the video?

Can creeping thyme be used as a lawn replacement?

Do rabbits and deer eat it? I can see half of it disappearing in a week.

I was going to start growing some in one long tray 15k seeds

Where can I find this plant in atlanta

Can you grow this in a container

Where did he get it from? 😊

Where did he buy the seeds? What company/brand? Thank you. :)

You're giving me no choice. I'm going to have to subscribe.

How are they doing a year later

Update video?

How are they doing now? Lets see some one year growth.

Is it evergreen?

will deer eat it?

You are to cute😍 I am just being a mom 🙂

Hi, I am looking for that for a long time now. May I ask you for some seeds? I am from the Philippines. Thank you in advance.

I bet he regretted eating that piece of thyme at the beginning of the video, lol. Job well done though.

you are sucker for ground covers... and you are handsome too

do you know of a ground cover that helps with mosquitoes? #PlantVibrationswithDevinWallien

I read the the red creeping time keep mosquito away

Will rabbits eat this?

Omg marry me