Thyme lawn fail - what now?

[honeyandbutterontoast]

3 1/2 years ago I planted a large bed at the house I’d moved into. It can be a bit shady at times but I found 10 roses that would all be okay with partial shade, planted 2 dwarf apple trees and decided to ground cover the whole bed with creeping thyme.

First year it was obviously a bit patchy (planted 100 pluglets that took time to spread. Second year a few patches but looked great. Last year it was more patches than plant and now it looks a total mess.

Is it worth trying again (it was pretty pricey) or is there something else that will be dog safe and cover the whole area like that?

I wonder if seeds would be better? I've got a thyme plant, from Sainsbury’s, that has seeded several small plants dotted around the garden.

Do you just want something nice and green to cover it, or are you after a more specific look?

My lawn was very bad, shady for much of the year and boggy in the winter. grass hates it. I gave up on it and sowed clover seed across the patches. Its very resilient, looks nice and green and the bees love the flowers.

Roses and thyme like basically opposite conditions- roses like clay soil, lots of manure and can handle some shade. Thyme likes to bake in sunshine on poor, well drained soil. Agree clover will work well in those conditions and fix nitrogen for the roses too.