Thyme border

My project of the week is planting thyme. It isn't just part of the herb garden, though. It's a decorative, fragrant border for the lawn, to make maintenance much, much easier.

Here's how it works. You know those places on your lawn that the mower just can't seem to get? Up against a fence, or a planter, or the house... the mower can't get close enough, and you are stuck either picking tall grass by hand, breaking your back with a weed eater, or letting it go to seed and anger the neighbors. With just one afternoon's work, you can make it a non-issue in the future.

Buy creeping thyme. It comes in a number of varieties, which you can sometimes find at local garden shops, but otherwise you can buy online from seed companies. Make sure it's a creeping variety, not a bushy variety. You can also plant several kinds, to get slightly different fragrances, leaf colors, and even blossoms.

Then you dig the area you want to plant. Take a lawn edger to break the sod first, then just dig the sod out. Plant your thyme according to directions, about a foot apart, and add compost, potting soil, or other seed and root-free planting material around it to level it. It should quickly grow and spread, making a trouble-free ground cover in the area that your mower can't reach. It is sturdy enough to take some foot traffic, and it lets off a lovely smell when the leaves get crushed. And it lies flat enough that the mower will do little damage when it comes into contact with the edge.