Grow and Use Fresh Herbs

Origanum vulgare

Savor true Italian flavor with garden-fresh oregano. This sprawling herb pumps up the taste in tomato sauces, pizza, and Mediterranean cuisine. An easy-growing perennial, oregano thrives in planting beds or containers. Plant it in a pot with rosemary, sage, and thyme for a flavorful quartet you can place near the kitchen door, handy for snipping and sprinkling into dishes. In the ground, plants will flower and set seed, which shortens the harvest season. Pinch flowers from stems to keep plants in top snipping form.

Light:  Sun

Zones:  5-11 

Plant Type:  Perennial, Herb 

Plant Height:  1-2 feet tall

Plant Width:  2-4 feet wide

Flower Color:  White to pinkish-purple blooms (tip:  trim flowers before they bloom for a fuller plant.)

Companion Planting:  Oregano makes a good companion for any vegetable in the garden, since oregano repels the squash borer, and flea beetles.