Beauty With Virtue: Ornamental oreganos seduce with looks that last

My sister, who raises flowers and cows on a sunny farm in Oregon, kept talking about how much she loved ornamental oreganos. Soon she was collecting various cultivars and raving about how beautifully they dry.

I've long grown golden oregano (Origanum vulgare 'Aureum') and several types of culinary oregano, and can't imagine simmering a tomato sauce or soup without stirring in oregano, or making a pizza without scattering some leaves across the top. For the longest time I thought my sister must mean the prettier varieties of these tasty herbs, or the low-growing golden oregano. This is a plant of many virtues, including its warm color, spreading habit and resistance to drought, pests and diseases. It keeps its chartreuse good looks year-round, and grows into a thick mat that smothers out weeds. What more could anyone ask of an oregano?

Then, a few years ago, I was up at Southlands nursery in Vancouver, B.C. (run by the extraordinary plantsman Thomas Hobbs), and saw a little sign declaring: "Origanum 'Barbara Tingey' is THE BEST ornamental oregano." I didn't see what was so exciting about the prepossessing little plants, but who can ignore Tom Hobbs' opinion, let alone the insistence of an older sibling? I figured I'd better buy a couple to try out, as well as several for my oregano-crazy sister.

When I got home I tried to read up on my acquisition, but was surprised to find very little written about ornamental oreganos. Even Christopher Lloyd, who always has an opinion, doesn't say much. Lloyd admires O. laevigatum as a late-summer border perennial and warns that many of the species "cannot be left to their own devices, being liable to disappear." So far my oregano plants have been full of surprises, but vanishing hasn't been one of them.

As soon as O. 'Barbara Tingey' bloomed I was captivated, and have since become slightly obsessed with ornamental oreganos, too. Pots on my porch drip with their hop-like bracts, which remind me of a snake (but in a good way). Their dried flowers (which hold their color and look fresh for years) fill little vases around the house, and I've planted at least one to cascade over every sunny wall or boulder I can find. Maybe they're ignored because they're so similar to the familiar marjoram. Or perhaps they aren't flashy enough, even at their peak of bloom. But their coloring is ethereal in its near transparency. The bracts overlap in layered cones so intricately that they look as if they might expand and retract like a slinky. They bloom from July to frost, aren't bothered by slugs or anything else, and fill in dry hot spots where not much else will thrive. Perhaps by this point in the garden's seasonal unfolding there have been so many fireworks (alliums, peonies, roses, lilies) that quieter plants are especially welcome. These unassuming little herbs have become the first plant I look for on any nursery forage.

O. 'Kent Beauty' is probably the easiest to find of the trailing ornamental oreganos, with pink-flower bracts ideal for drying or garnishes. I haven't been able to tell much difference between it and the vaunted O. 'Barbara Tingey,' except that the latter has both pale green and pink bracts, and perhaps its flowers are a little larger.

O. laevigatum 'Hopleys Purple' grows more upright but stays compact, reaching a foot high, with burgundy-purple foliage and a mild scent reminiscent of rosemary. It has narrow, hop-like blooms from July to September and dries beautifully. Its close relative, O. laevigatum 'Herrenhausen,' has a sweet, fruit scent to its dark-green leaves and pretty purple flowers.

Remember that ornamental oreganos are native to hot Mediterranean hillsides, and give them full sun and perfectly drained soil. Properly sited and then left alone, they'll put on a display for months in the garden and even longer when cut for the vase. Lately I've noticed many intriguing species and cultivars in the nurseries and catalogs, so happy hunting. Now In Bloom

The white potato vine (Solanum jasminoides 'Album') must be the longest-blooming perennial vine, newly put into this perennial category because it has reliably weathered our recent mild winters. The pure white, star-like little flowers, set off by narrow, dark-green leaves, put on a show from midsummer to frost. This easy-to-grow scrambler likes a warm, sunny location, support for its lax stems, and a protected spot in winter with a layer of mulch.

Valerie Easton is a Seattle free-lance writer and contributing editor for Horticulture magazine. Her e-mail address is vjeaston@aol.com