In article ,
Penelope Periwinkle wrote:

We talked about Mexican oregano back in the spring, and after
much searching, I found a mail order nursery that carried it, and
ordered.

Well, after all that work, I found trays and trays of it for sale
at Lowe's today, and their's was larger and cheaper than what I
bought. The leaves are smaller, but I don't know if that's
because they're in such small pots or if I have a slightly
different variety. They do smell slightly different, but that
could also be the difference in handing and growing conditions.
The Lowe's Mexican Oregano has a softer, less sharp taste to it.

Anyway, I've tried mine in a few dishes, and it does add an
interesting flavor. Hopefully they'll come back even bigger next
year so I can experiment more. I didn't want to pick them down to
the nub before they were well established. I bought one of the
Lowe's plants, too, so I can compare the two.

And, well, I didn't want to stand in the store tasting their
plants. They already think I'm a bit odd for being excited about
finding monarch butterfly caterpillars on the milkweed they were
selling. Heh, I asked the cashier if she was going to charge me
extra for the caterpillars, and she squealed and jumped back from
the cash register when I pointed them out to her.

Penelope

evil grin That's hilarious... ;-)
Hopefully they will come back to your yard every year to lay more eggs!

Thanks for the heads up about the Mexican Oregano at Lowe's! Mine has
been blooming all summer and the butterflies seem to be attracted to it.
It does not get enough water where it is so it's not growing very fast
so I'd like to get more plants and put them in other areas in the yard.
They do eventually get pretty big and they are lovely with all those
little purple trumpet shaped blooms!

I'd say the flavor compares more to Marjoram than Oregano. I do use it
and I like it.

Cheers!
--
Om.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-bitch." -Jack Nicholson