8 varieties of thyme for your garden

There are over 350 species of thyme, many of which are rich in essential oil. Here are eight different species that will complement your meal or allow you to concoct natural remedies.

1. Common thyme (Thymus vulgaris )

This is the main culinary and medicinal species. It has very small, narrow, oval, lance-shaped leaves, and white to purple flowers shaped like ears.

Among the existing forms, there are:

• Silver Posie, with soft, variegated, green and white foliage, and pink-purple flowers;
• Aureus with gold stained/spotted leaves;
• Erectus, which grows straight and tall;
• Fragrantissimus, ororange thyme, a hybrid with fine and straight foliage and which smells of lemon.

2. Corsican (caraway) thyme or thym carvi (T. herba-barona)

• This is a rough, ground covering thyme, with very small almost shiny leaves, with lavender flowers and a scent of cumin.

3. Spanish oregano or za'atar thyme (T. capitatus syn. Coridothymus capitatus)

• This compact and very fragrant sub-shrub has very small rigid, almost fleshy leaves and conical clusters of bright pink flowers.
• It has a strong scent that is the source of Spanish oregano oil's scent.
• It cannot tolerate winter moisture and grows best in a pot, protected from moisture.

4. Lavender scented thyme or marjoram sylvester (T. mastichina)

• Clear and gray, it has a strong scent of oregano thyme, of which some chemotypes are very close to those of lavender and eucalyptus.
• It is frost-resistant, but does not like the winter moisture. It's better to grow it in a pot.
• Its robust flavour is suitable for barbecuing.

5. Lemon thyme (T. × citriodorus)

• Bushy plant with grassy green leaves, which spreads, and with scents of lemon and thyme.
• Its scattered flowers are mauve lilac.

The two most known varieties are:

• Silver Queen, white variegated;
• Golden King, yellow variegated.

Both have a hard time surviving the winter and are therefore best grown in pots.

6. Lemon thyme (T. pulegioides)

This is a spreading sub-shrub, with large elliptical leaves, and erect inflorescences of purple flowers. It is variable in appearance and flavour, releasing scents of thyme and oregano, and others with more camphoric scents.

Varieties include:

• Foxley,white variegated;
• Bertram Anderson syn. "Anderson's Gold ', gold and low;
• Archer's Gold, with a citrus scent and with bright yellow foliage in the summertime.

7. Azores thyme (T. caespititius syn. T. azoricus, T. micans)

It is a dense cover, resembling foam and with a bitter orange fragrance, complete with white, pink or purple flowers.

8. Wild thyme (T. serpyllum)

It is native to northern Europe.

The creeping varieties concern two species:

• The real wild thyme T. serpyllum is very aromatic and used in herbal medicine
• T. praecox subsp. Arcticus is almost odourless.

There are many varieties of covering thyme (tapissants) with ornamental foliage and in a wide range of flower colours, from the red cherry of Coccineus to the pure white of Snowdrift.

Try to enhance your meals with these different varieties of thyme. Who knows, you might be able to make delicious discoveries!