Creeping Thyme lawn?

[puntloos]

https://www.ruralsprout.com/creeping-thyme-lawn/

 

 

Has anyone ever considered doing this? As far as I can tell:

+ Much less thirsty

+ Crowds out other plants in your lawn & fills the space

+ Much more summer heat resistant

+ Fragrant

+ No lawnmowing needed, sticks to 5cm

 

Only 3 downsides:

- A little less strong than grass

- Uneven (but you could mow..)

-(?) when flowering, it means you have bees on the ground, so walking barefoot not advised.

[patp]

Have thought about this too so will be interested in any replies.

 

Another one that has been suggested is a wildflower lawn with plenty of Yellow Rattle in it. Yellow Rattle  is parasitic on grass. This gives the wildflowers a chance to establish. Again it reduces mowing and is bee friendly.

[Ferdinand]

I think herb lawns end up taking more effort and maintenance than you would prefer, though Herts sounds possibly quite benign a place to do one.

 

There is a National Trust version of one at Sissinghurst in Kent after the experience of Vita Sackwille-West *.

 

There is an article about it here. They found it tricky and have now replaced with something more like a big stone paving patio with Thyme in the gaps:

https://sissinghurstcastle.wordpress.com/2015/03/12/the-thyme-lawns-revisted/

https://www.facebook.com/SissinghurstNT/posts/vita-was-a-great-lover-of-bringing-the-indoors-outdoors-and-her-desire-for-this-/2814891468540481/

 

Ditto chamomile, aiui.

 

We have one of their two large herb gardens near here at Hardwick Hall which I visit regularly, which is a bit windswept and I have never seen any thoughts of trying one here.

 

My suggestion if you do not want a feature needing maintenance is to consider how green roofs are done, which need to be hard wearing and tolerant, or look for what the dominant creeping plants are on your local soils similar to your potential lawn.

F

 

* I do hope Sackville-West was the inspiration for the Sackville-Bagginses in Tolkien. Perhaps as an aristo she was in the habit of stealing spoons. Too young, probably, however.

 

[Conor]

Thyme thrives on poor, rocky, well drianed soil. The opposite of the average UK lawn.

 

Mum has thyme, oregano, sage and mint taking over their stone wall terrace part of the garden. It's sprawled over the path and is popping up in little pockets everywhere. But I think this is a product of the very specific conditions (shallow pockets of pool soil in raised areas so well drained and plenty of warmth and sun in the summer). 

 

I think youd really struggle to keep other native plants at bay as thyme is quite slow growing. A lot of work.

[puntloos]

Thanks @Ferdinandand @Conor this is exactly the sort of detail I was looking for. People tend to be a bit traditional so even if 'the better thing' was found they might resist switching but it sounded too good to be true... I'll keep my research up.

 

Perhaps more importantly the question I really want to ask is how I can have a 'small kid compatible' garden that is ideally low maintenance and environmental and aesthetically pleasing.

[Conor]

6 minutes ago, puntloos said:

Thanks @Ferdinandand @Conor this is exactly the sort of detail I was looking for. People tend to be a bit traditional so even if 'the better thing' was found they might resist switching but it sounded too good to be true... I'll keep my research up.

 

Perhaps more importantly the question I really want to ask is how I can have a 'small kid compatible' garden that is ideally low maintenance and environmental and aesthetically pleasing.

 

Our wee fella and his neighbour friend love digging in type 3. Good enough.

[Iceverge]

Just stop mowing it.

Mind you, you'll need nerves of steel just to "let it grow", blinds will be twitching, and parish councils will be tutting. 

 

We did this and the number of flowers that came through was remarkable. Nothing spectacular, just clovers, buttercups, dandelions, daisys, trifoils etc. 

Despite the non exotic mix the bees and the butterflies were very much appreciative. 

 

For some added child fun you could lawnmower a series of paths through it.

 

 

[Kelvin]

We let our 1 acre paddock go wild at the last house. We cut lawn tractor wide paths through it with hidden seating areas. It was great and we used it more than the garden. 

[joe90]

I like the idea but my soggy clay does not like it.

[SteamyTea]

1 hour ago, puntloos said:

I really want to ask is how I can have a 'small kid compatible

Think most local authorities have these. Can usually tell as they are the places with the winos in them. 

So you should find a fellow buildhubber there.