Inspired Gardens: Growing A Thyme Lawn
Tips For How To Grow A Thyme Lawn From Gardeners In Albuquerque, NM
When Vic and Barb Bruno built their new home in the year 2000 they were city dwellers, used to a small lot with a “watersucking” lawn and plants. The biggest challenge they faced when landscaping their new home in a semi-rural area just outside the city limits was that the lot was subject to water restrictions and shared a common well with three other homes. Water-thrifty landscaping was a priority.
Thyme Lawn: A Drought-Resistant (Xeric) Choice
Bruno, whose work includes commercial property management, did a lot of research before selecting his Pink Chintz Thyme lawn. “I would get on the Internet and research which plants are xeric. I came across High County Gardens website and got your catalog. It did a wonderful job of telling mature plant size, how much water it would need, and whether it would repel deer and rabbits, the latter of which we had a ton of.”
Bruno visited High Country Gardens’ bricks and mortar store, Santa Fe Greenhouses (no longer in business) to see what offerings they had. “I still wanted some color and a thyme lawn was suggested. They said Pink Chintz Thyme would work if I didn’t expect to walk on it very much,” said Bruno.
The greenhouse staff advised the Thyme be planted 12-18” on center and thought it would fill in about six months. In reality, it took closer to two years. Vic Bruno believes it took so long because the soil is quite poor (clay loam) and it would have filled in more quickly if they had done a better job amending the soil.
“There was section of the front yard where the ground level was about four feet below the slab so there was almost no yard,” explained Bruno. “We imported clean soil from a construction site. I improved that with just some peat moss and fertilizer mix."
After the second season Bruno began to add a compost mix and the Thyme plugs started to spread out and flower. “In the initial form we’d have the clumps growing, it was a little bumpy at first. It flowered in the valleys, not at the top of the clump,” said Bruno. When it all filled in to the same level, it flowered everywhere. It eventually thickened enough to be a carpet-like mat of color.
“We have a large lot and have a lot of landscaping,” said Vic Bruno. “It required that we have low water use landscaping, with a preference toward xeric plants.”
Advice For Establishing A Thyme Lawn
Bruno has some advice to those wanting to plant a Thyme lawn. “I’d make sure to plant them no more than 12” on center, which might mean a few more plugs,” he said. “I’d also suggest people do a soil analysis to see what the PH is, so you have a balanced soil without too much clay and sand. I think it prefers a faster draining soil than what we have.”
One of the biggest advantages of the Thyme lawn has been its resilience. “I’ve had people say that it might get woody, but I haven’t seen that,” said Bruno. “We had people tell us that it would die out, but here we are 16 years later.”
