New Pathway

[Kim1981]

Hi,
I started to renovate my flagstone pathway yesterday. The people that owned the house before us installed it but didn't do it correcctly so the rocks had sunk into the ground and became 75% covered in grass. Most of the rocks I didn't know were there until I hit them with the shovel.
Anyway, instead of grass growing between the steps I wanted to try planting creeping thyme (by seed).
I bought some "Magic Carpet Thyme" yesterday from Veseys. Anyone have experience with thyme in their ppathways? How long does it take to establish? Also, do you know where I can find some pix?

[Eeyore]

Hi Kim, I did not have much luck growing thyme from seed but did plant thyme plants. They grow quickly and full in well. Once a season I have to give them a "haircut" because it will grow over top of the stones. It looks great between the stones.

[Dumbo]

A neighbour of one of my in-laws grows this on the side of his house instead of grass.

He used seed.

That's all I know.

[Kim1981]

Thanks,
The pathway is pretty long so the seeds are the only way to go, buying the plants would cost an arm & a leg.

[Eeyore]

We were able to cut the 4" square pots into 3 or 4 pieces each. We used Wooly Thyme and it grew very quickly. The first year we did 3 or 4 pots and were able to use cuttings by the end of the season to do another part of the walk. This year we will finish the walk with cuttings. Magic Carpet may do better from seed than the Wooly thyme did. At any rate it grows quicky and needs to be trimmed back or it will take over your stones.

[earwig]

I don't see your location but if anywhere near central Nova Scotia I would gladly give you oodles of thyme. The draw back with using thyme on pathways that are used in the winter months is that it is hard to use a push snow shovel on them.

I am surprised Lyn that wooley thyme survives your zone as I found it not always that hardy in my 5.

It does increase quickly.

[Kim1981]

I'm north of Toronto but thanks for the offer! I guess I'll just have to plant them and see how it grows.
I'll update and post pics once they get started.

[Eeyore]

Surprisingly it does quite well Betty. It is on a path that doesn't get used in the winter. We've had some die back but we always have extra to fill in the empty spots once the season gets going.

[earwig]

I am going to have to speak to mine although I see it came through this past winter just fine.
Actually I find that everybody's garden has different factors about them so just one more reason to push the zone.

[CarolynM]

we have a very large flagstone walkway, I planted some irish moss last year but it is quite costly and will take me years to get it all filled in, I get some kind of moss that grows in the walkway and when green looks very nice but now it is getting brown and going to seed and doesn't look so hot, anyone know what that is called.