Wooly thyme or Elfin thyme?

Hi,

We are in Santa Rosa so probably have similar soil, exposure issues. Our flagstone patio sucks the moisture right out of Irish and scotch mosses, but wooly and elfin thyme seem to be doing well so far. Mondo grass can be gorgeous, but slow growing and pricey. Bees probably won't invade, the thyme attracts all kinds of little pollinators. OSH in petaluma has 6 packs of both thymes recently. Good luck!

Elfin Thyme Seeds

Wooly Thyme

Both Elfin and Woolly thyme will attract bees when they're flowering. Elfin thyme has fewer flowers and doesn't grow as rampantly, but it also doesn't take foot traffic as well as woolly thyme does. If you're worried about bees and small children, you may want to consider Irish or Scotch moss instead of thyme. They're not actually moss, but plants that grow and look like moss and work well between paving stones. Both can take some foot traffic and have fewer flowers to attract bees. Irish moss is a dark green color, scotch moss a bright yellowish-green.

I have rock garden and have woolly thyme grown along the edge, over the time they creeps down and also inward... I have not seen flowers on mine (have had it for 3 - 4 years), have no problem with bees or warps either.