Botanical name: Thymus polytrichus
Folk names: mother of thyme

Type: Perennial

Wildlife: Nectar for butterflies, bees and hoverflies. Some research suggests that thyme pollen may be medicinal for bees.

Flowers: June to August

Decorative merit: Low-growing, fragrant stems with numerous clusters of tiny mauve-pink flowers, forming mats to cover bare patches.

Where: Sun. Gravel and herb patches and rockeries, at the front of free-draining borders or in sun-baked wilder patches. Try in between pavement slabs and brick path gaps but be careful not to step on, or roll your bicycle over, the bees!

Folklore: A thick patch of flowering thyme was thought to conceal the entrance to the fairy realm.

Mint family relative of betony and marjoram

Donate seeds to Exeter Seed Bank