The thyme garden

One of my favorite books as a girl was The Time Garden by Edward Eager. It is the story of children who discover a magic thyme garden in a house by the sea. The garden has a sundial (note to self: get a sundial) withe the inscription "Anything can happen...when you've all the time in the world."

So naturally, when I finally had space to make a garden of my own, I filled it with thyme. I have lots of thyme. dwarf thyme for ground cover, lemon thyme for the smell and beautiful green and yellow leaves, and common thyme everywhere.

This week I have been "working from home" to be with my son for a bit before he leaves for the rest of the summer. Much of that time has been spent in my thyme garden while I call encouragement to him to keep working on his summer assignments. I cannot imagine any more pleasant garden task than cutting back thyme. Every step, every movement, every snip of the shears releases the most wonderful aromas. I take the cuttings and spread them on the uncovered ground of the beds I haven't dealt with yet, and they stay there, drying in the sun, and continuing to smell delightful.

I have too much thyme, I know. My husband, the cook in the family, rarely uses it--preferring the thyme he gets from our organic co-op. I want to tell him that mine, only steps away, is fresher and organic too, but I've stopped trying to convince him. This thyme is mine--it grows only for me and my enjoyment. I cut it, I run my hands through it, I put it in vases, and I gaze at it from the kitchen window. I may not have all the time in the world, but I have plenty of thyme, and on some summer days that feels pretty magical.