The humble origanum packs a punch in the garden and is always on our list for those dry, sunny spots. Coming mainly from the Mediterranean area, these sun-loving perennials are very suited to the drought tolerant garden, or equally at home in containers.
Those producing more upright flowers, such as Origanum laevigatum ‘Herrenhausen’, are a great filler in floral arrangements, or preserved for dried displays. Provide what they need; full sun and a free-draining soil, and they will reward you with endless flowers bringing in a great number of bees and butterflies, and will reliably return for you year after year.
Origanum vulgare (culinary oregano) and O. laevigatum, are wonderful ground cover plants producing dense carpets of foliage, above which appear clusters of small, tubular flowers, either white, purple or pink.
Origanum ‘Kent Beauty’ and O. rotundifolium ‘Jan’s Pink’ are two species which enjoy the same conditions as other origanums in Beth’s garden but have a very different look and growth habit. Rounded leaves appear on prostrate stems alongside whorls of hop-like flowers enhanced by overlapping colourful bracts, turning papery when dried.
Wildlife credentials with Dr Chris Gibson
All species and forms of origanum are an outstanding source of nectar and pollen for bees, butterflies and other insects throughout their long summer flowering-period. In peak season, whole plants can be clad with browns, skippers, blues, whites and admirals, all favourite garden butterflies, together with the tiny, jewel-like mint moth, the larvae of which use marjoram as one of their food plants.
Great companion plants include:
Favourites at Beth’s
Origanum 'Rosenkuppel'- A low-growing evergreen perennial with rounded leaves and clusters of rosy-purple flowers with dark bracts. Height and spread: 60cm x 40cm.
Origanum laevigatum 'Herrenhausen'- This strongly growing form makes a dense carpet of leaves held in neat rosettes. In summer and autumn, stiff, wiry stems carry bunched heads of tiny purple flowers. Height and spread: 50cm x 40cm.
Origanum rotundifolium 'Jan's Pink'- A prostrate evergreen subshrub with grey-green leaves and clusters of pinky-mauve hop like flowers. Good to cut and dry. Named after an employee of Beth's. Height and spread: 15cm x 30cm.
Origanum vulgare 'Thumble's Variety'- Forms good ground covering carpets of fresh yellow-green leaves, making bright contrast. Produces white flowers. Height and spread: 40cm x 20cm.
Origanum vulgare 'Pink Thumbles'- As with Origanum vulgare 'Thumble's Variety' this forms mounds of fresh yellow-green leaves, but produces clusters of small tubular bright pink flowers. Height and spread: 40cm x 30cm.
Read on: Achillea: How to Grow and Care for
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