Brandon - funny!! But seriously, there are so many flies they're just gross. It's strange because alot of natural fly repellent recommendations say to plant strong smelling herbs such as thyme, but my thyme is actually attracting the flies and now they're moving into the bush next to it. I'm thinking of cutting off all the blooms but don't know if that'll hurt the thyme and/or if it's too late to get rid of all the flies now.

While at Rainbow Gardens in San Antonio this morning I saw a whole table of plants in 3" pots that had the company name of "Stepables". There were lots of interesting plants for between stones and other places, plants that would take light foot traffic; various kinds of sedums, some tiny oxalis, and others that I didn't recognize, but looked like they would work. Nearby the nursery has placed dwarf mondo grass and frogfruit as mentioned above. Probably not all the company offers on their website would be suitable for Texas, but maybe one of your local nurseries would have a selection of "Stepables" that would work where you are.

Ditto Ken’s advice about not digging out the center. How long has your plant been in the ground? Have the remaining stems rooted? Did you shear the top after it bloomed? I’ve had a meandering patch going for probably ten years. Some years there are brown patches and they’ve always occurred after blooming. I’ve never been comfortable trimming out the dead stuff because the stems are so intertwined (and some stems only have foliage at the ends) that it’s hard to figure out what’s really dead. I’ve had good luck if I shear the dead blooms and the very top layer of the underlying foliage every year after the bloom dies. If the outer stems on your plant have rooted, you should be ok. It’s possible that rooted sections in the dead area will produce new growth, but I’ve actually only had that happen with a bushy thyme that also behaves like a groundcover thyme.

My first question would be the amount of shade.....creeping thyme wants full sun, 8+ hours. It looks like the shade might be cast by a large tree. If so, that could explain why you are struggling with a lawn in this area. Lawn grasses just don't do well in much shade, even shade tolerant species. And underplanting some trees with a lawn is just an exercise in futility due to the amount of tree roots present in the area and how those roots out-compete other plants for moisture and nutrients. Also wide tree canopies tend to shield the area underneath from adequate rainfall. If these conditions are present, then neither a lawn nor a creeping thyme replacement is going to work well. But that's not to say some alternative groundcover or other approach would not work. We just need more explanation from you as to what is causing these conditions.