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Thyme is a Herb that Cures all Diseases

Thyme is a Herb that Cures all Diseases. Not really, but boy does it help us out a lot!

Thyme contains an essential oil that is rich in thymol, a powerful antiseptic, antibacterial, and a strong antioxidant.

All the members of the mint family, including thyme, possess terpenoids which are recognized for their cancer preventive properties. Rosmarinic and ursolic acids are major terpenoids in thyme that possess anti-cancer properties.

There are hundreds of varieties of thyme.  The thyme plants are perennials, belonging to the mint family, and exist in various shapes and colors.

I have four different varieties growing in the kitchen garden along the fence.  They all have a lovely small white, pink, magenta or lilac flower that shows up at the end of spring and beginning of summer.  Although the flowers are small they are very numerous, and they produce copious nectar, making thyme flowers a favorite of the honey bee. Some of the finest-flavored honey comes from thyme nectar. Leaf colors vary from light green to olive grey-green, golden green, dark green, silver, or bronze-tinted.

Thyme is very woody and likes to creep into the gravel in my walkways.  I leave some of it to creep because when you walk on thyme it releases its scent.  One of the varieties I have growing is Lemon Thyme and yep you guessed it, it smells like lemons.

 Thyme is one of the most fragrant and pleasant greenery’s to have growing in your garden. Their small size makes them ideally suited to crevices in paving, rock gardens, and containers. They thrive in stony or rocky situations and loves plenty of sunshine. They can be used in the garden to deter beetles and other cabbage pests. For healthier growth, it is important to trim them after flowering and also remove the dead flowers. Sprigs can be picked during the growing season and used fresh or dried.

Really think about placing thyme in your pots.  They make a striking accent to the annuals and allows you easy access to the fresh herb.

Fun Facts:

The ancient Egyptians used thyme in the mummification process.

Thyme has been associated with courage since ancient times. The Greeks, the Romans, the Scottish highlanders, and the knights of the Middle Ages all thought thyme brought one strength and courage.

The ancient Greeks sprinkled thyme in their baths.

When the Greeks said that someone “smelled of thyme” it meant that the person was elegant, refined, and stylish.

The Greeks burnt it as incense in sacred temples.

The Romans used thyme in the treatment of depression.

Thyme was placed in coffins to ensure passage to the next world.

Thyme was sacred to the Druids, who used it to treat depression and ward off negativity.

In the Middle Ages, people placed it under their pillows to prevent nightmares and aid sleep.

Fairies are said to love thyme. In France and England, people often created a bed of thyme to attract fairies and make them feel at home in the garden.

Oberon, the king of the fairies in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, says, “I know a bank where the wild thyme blows,” referring to the bed of thyme in which Titania, the fairy queen, sleeps.

A 17th-century recipe with thyme as one of the main ingredients claims to enable people to see fairies.

Hymettus honey from Greece is made from bees who gather pollen from wild thyme on Mount Hymettus.

Thyme was once used on bandages to prevent infection.

The essential oil of thyme is called thymol. It was isolated in 1725 by the German apothecary Neuiuiann.

The active ingredient in Listerine mouthwash is thymol.

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