Planting a few pots of oregano in my terraced vegetable garden seemed like such a good idea 10 years ago. I’d probably just read “A Year in Provence” or “Under the Tuscan Sun” and imagined drifts of soft green leaves tumbling over the edge of the pink stones, perfuming the summer with the fragrance of the Mediterranean.
And in some ways, I was right. The oregano grows strong, confidently filling dry cracks in the rock wall and blocking the progress of grass and perennial weeds. It feeds the bees and flavors grilled squash and fish with the tastes of Greece and Italy.
But the past few seasons, the oregano has gone rogue. Last summer, it crowded out two huge French tarragon plants. This year, it’s colonized every place it could get a root hold.
It’s become a garden bully, leaning over tender new plants and soaking up the moisture on the days it rains and blocking others from the heat and light.
Still, I can’t bare to order the oregano out. To do more than control its progress would be to surrender the dreamy quality of the garden, which to me, is just as important as the flavors it produces. — Dana Coffield, The Denver Post
