Plant Heritage's most prestigious honour, the Brickell Award, was conferred on Margaret Easter for her work on the genus Thymus.

Margaret has been growing and researching this aromatic herb for 20 years; her Thymus Collection, which covers around 250 taxa, was awarded Scientific Status in 2004 and she also holds smaller National Collections of the herbs Satureja (Savory) and Hyssopus (Hyssop).

Thymus species occur across Europe and much of Asia. The herb has been used and cultivated for thousands of years, not just for cookery - the Egyptians used thyme in their mummy embalming process and the Romans introduced Mediterranean species to the northern fringes of their empire. The essential oil purified from common thyme (Thymus vulgaris) contains an antiseptic, Thymol, which was applied to bandages to aid healing before modern antibiotics were developed and today it is still the main active ingredient in Listerine mouthwash, is used to treat fungus infected toenails and is the basis of alcohol-free hand sanitizers.

Margaret has written a superb guide for gardeners and nurserymen which is published by Plant Heritage - The Thyme Handbook - which documents the varieties, their uses and cultivation, accompanied by attractive photographs.

For more information about this year's Brickell Award please see the Brickell Award Press Release.