There are many different types of thyme, some of which are used in cooking and some are purely ornamental. Like most edible thymes, the common or "garden" thyme (Thymus vulgaris) is a bushy subshrub (halfway between a perennial and a shrub) between 15-30cm tall and about 40cm wide.

It is evergreen (keeps its leaves in winter) bearing small, aromatic, grey-green leaves that are excellent for cooking. In late spring and early summer it produces clusters of little flowers which range in colour from bright purple to white and are a magnet for bees.

Other attractive thymes for the herb garden are Thymus x citriodorus "Silver Queen", a pretty variety with green and white leaves and the many gold-leafed forms including Thymus pulegioides "Aureus" and "Bertram Anderson".
There are also thymes with interesting flavours and scents. These include lemon thyme (Thymus x citriodorus) which has a good strong lemon scent, orange-scented Thymus 'Fragrantissimus', caraway scented thyme (Thymus herba-barona) and pine-scented Thymus longicaulis.

Finally, there are various mat-forming, dwarf thymes which are excellent for growing in the cracks between paving or in a rockery. These include Thymus serpyllum which grows to just 3cm tall, its white-flowered variant called 'Snowdrift' and Thymus 'Doone Valley' which grows to 5cm tall and has variegated gold and green leaves.

Planting
Plant pot grown plants at any time when the ground is not frozen. In spreading types (you can tell this as they will have put down roots in other places, not just the original roots from the central stem), divide up existing clumps in spring - simply slice through a large established clump and plant up the different bits separately.

Soil and position
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A native of the western Mediterranean and southern Italy, this is another sun-lover. Although it is fully hardy and can tolerate freezing temperatures it will die in wet soggy soil. Plant it in well-drained, neutral to alkaline soil in full sun. It's worth adding plenty of grit to your soil if it is sticky.

Care
Cut vigorous thymes back hard after their flowers have gone over to keep them compact and stop them getting leggy. This means cutting back the dead flowers and growing tips to near-ish the lower leaves. Do not cut off all the leaves or you may well kill the plant. For other less vigorous types like the dwarf thymes, lightly trim back after flowering.