Friday's Herbal - Thyme

Thank God it's Friday!  I had lots of fun at the Utah Arts Festival yesterday (well, until that mean lady started poking her finger in my face and screaming at me because I was "standing in her space"); I was up past my bedtime and I am exhausted.  I'll tell you all about it next week, and post some pictures of my very cool find.  For today though, we have herbs to talk about.

Common name:  Thyme or Common Thyme
Latin: Thymus vulgaris

Thyme is such a great herb.  It's a tiny little plant, with tiny little leaves and flowers that have giant flavor and aroma.  Not only is it good in the kitchen and your medicinal arsenal, but you can make silly puns and say things like "thyme is on our side"  and "it's about thyme!"  Maybe that just goes on at my house.

Thyme is a small, shrubby perennial, native to the western Mediterranean region.  It grows to only about 1 foot tall and has flowers about 1/4-1/2" long, with even smaller light purple to pink flowers.

Thyme is very easy to grow from seed, but best sown indoors, as they need a soil temperature of 70℉ to germinate.  You can also grow thyme from cuttings or divisions taken preferably in spring.  I have taken sprigs of thyme purchased from the grocery store, placed them in water and had them root.

Plant your thyme outside in full-sun to partial shade, in a light, dry well-drained soil.  It's hardy in US zones 5-9.  Tomatoes, eggplant, and potatoes benefit from having thyme planted nearby.  It repels cabbage worms and white flies.

There are different explanations for the origin of the name thymus; it may derive from the Greek word for "courage" or "to fumigate" or even "burnt offerings".   Historically, the herb was burned to rid the house of stinging insects.  Thyme pillows were used to relieve epilepsy and melancholy, and to treat "nervous disorders" such as shyness and nightmares.  From the 15th through 17th centuries, thyme was used to combat the plague, and during WWI, the essential oil was used as an antiseptic on the battlefield.

The ancients believed that a bed of thyme was home to fairies, and gardeners would plant a separate patch just for the fae folk.  A fun activity for the little ones is to build a little bed or tiny house to place amongst the thyme for the fairies to inhabit.  And of course leave little sparkly treats for the fairies.  They like that I'm told, especially real silver coins.

Today thyme is used as an ingredient in cough medicines, and is a remedy for gastrointestinal complaints and lung congestion.  Its antispasmodic properties make it useful in treating asthma, whooping cough, and stomach cramps.

Care should be taken when using the pure essential oil, and the oil should not be used by pregnant women.  It can be toxic, causing dizziness, nausea, and headache.  It can also depress heart and respiratory function, and lower body temperature.  Conversely, it can overstimulate the thyroid.  This quality makes thyme useful in treating hypothyroidism.

The amounts of the fresh thyme plant used in cooking or for home remedies are generally considered safe.

There are a multitude of different varieties of thyme available.  This picture above shows Woolly Thyme (T. pseudolanuginosus) which is beautiful in rock gardens and as a low growing ground cover. 

The thyme in this photo is Creeping Thyme or Mother-of-Thyme (T. praecox subsp. arcticus).  It forms a very low growing, dense mat.  I'll be planting some of this in my backyard.

There are a number of different culinary varieties, the most popular being the Common Thyme and Lemon Thyme (T. X citriodorus).  Others include Nutmeg Thyme (T. nummularius) and Caraway Thyme (T. Herba-barona).

Common Thyme is a popular ingredient in French, Cajun, and Creole dishes and is included in the classic bouquets garnis along with parsley and bay leaf.  Throw a couple sprigs of thyme in with your beef pot roast, and add a bottle of dark German stout and plenty of onions, for an easy but very tasty cold weather dish.  (We won't be having that here anytime soon.  It got up to 95℉. yesterday and is trying again today.  Summer has arrived in force!)  Sprinkle a few leaves in your salad; the flowers added to salad give a very delicate flavor.

You can make a sachet of the dried flowers of thyme to keep insects out of your linens.  The antiseptic and stimulating effects of thyme make it useful in lotions and baths.

Thyme is easy to grow indoors for fresh herbs all year.  Harvest from your indoor or outdoor plant as needed throughout the season.  You can cut and dry some of your outdoor plant, or you can freeze the leaves as well.  Don't cut your plant all the way back in the fall or it will not overwinter as well.

Well, it's thyme for me to go.  (I'm sorry!  I couldn't resist!)  I have every reason to believe I will spend the rest of the day, if not the entire weekend, lost in a book.  Actually I have a stack of library books due soon.  I think I'll grab a cold glass of iced tea and find a quiet nook where I can spend the afternoon.  What are you doing this weekend?