Garden paving advice and thyme/chamomile lawns

[katanita]

Has anyone ever tried laying a mix of paving and creeping thyme or similar to fill the gaps? I've given up on reseeding my patchy lawn each year and want to try something different, but want a bit of greenery and don't want full paving.

When I read about paving online it mostly assumes you want to pave the whole thing so suggests laying down hardcore, using mortar and grouting around the stones etc. But if I want a mix, can I get away with laying stones into soil and planting around it? Or will they shift about too much? If so, what's the best thing to do? Any advice very welcome! Thank you in advance.

Also if anyone has any suggestions for container plants that will last for years, that would be much appreciated.