Kent Beauty, Potted in Vintage Horse Muzzle Planter
If you are a gardener, chances are you like to grow herbs, too. One of the most beautiful herbs I have ever grown is the ornamental oregano, Kent Beauty, Origanum rotundifolium. While most oregano varieties are grown for their culinary use, Kent Beauty and a few other ornamental oregano varieties are not, and in fact, have no taste at all. Ornamental oregano are best used for their beauty in gardens, borders, and especially containers.
In the photo above, I created a tiny hanging basket out of a vintage horse muzzle, lined with moss, and planted with a 4″ Kent Beauty plant. As the Kent Beauty grows, it spills gracefully over the sides of its re-purposed container. Its simplicity is enchanting.
Kent Beauty is a delightfully fragrant herb, attractive to bees, and has such a delicate “tossled” beauty about it. Its foliage is actually hard to describe. It has wiry stems that reach 4″ in height, with beautiful blue-green stemless rounded leaves.
Off of these stem ends, bloom textured bracts, similar to hop, in a delicate mauve pale pink color throughout the summer. These delightful mauve pink bracts can be cut in full bloom, hung, and dried upside down for use in crafts.
Kent Beauty is native to Turkey, Armenia, and Republic of Georgia and is a hydrid ornamental oregano of Origanum rotundifolium x Origanum scabrum. I have seen multiple preferred climate zones for this herb, so check with your plant source for details for your area first, before purchasing.
Prune Kent Beauty closely back, after its summer bloom. It does best in well-drained soil. It prefers to be in dry soil, between thorough waterings. It is best to protect it from excessive winter moisture. It is available in local nurseries, and a good website I found for ornamental oregano varieties and purchasing is http://www.mountainvalleygrowers.com/index.html.
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Haven’t found one near me but I’m searcging all farmers and tack shops for an very sad and used horse muzzle that needs a home! I have a friend that raises miniature donkeys – I’ll ask her – she has babies due soon! I checked out the plant site – it seemed pricey to me but they look so pretty – I’ll look in my local nursery – very pretty plant. Thanks for sharing. Jennifer
I stumbled across some Kent’s Beauty plants at my local Home Depot at the end of the (chicago) blooming season.. (July), in the “perennials out of bloom” section. Just sitting there being gorgeous and getting no attention, so I thought I’d try my hand at them. A relative saw my digital pics of the plant and was mad to get some too, so we wound up with four or five plants between us. Hers went into the ground and is doing great three or four weeks later. Mine are in containers doing almost as well (not enough water) on my deck. It’s been a very cool but sunny summer for Chicago until this weekend, so I don’t know what to expect if we get a normal summer next year. I plan to put my plants into the ground at least for the winter, and soak them in after trimming the bracts to 3″ (as I read you should do), then see how they winter over. They are definitely tough enough to survive my brown thumb and lackadaisical maintenance protocols. Our winters are horrid here, but I have read that the plants should survive -20F temperatures. As soon as I put down my shovel, I shall cross my fingers. I’m dying to see them come up and flourish over the next couple of years.
The Berk
Rebecca, it sounds like a good plan. Good luck to you. Thanks for your great comment…VintageGardenGal.
Try Ornamental Oregano with Ipomea Marguerite (as shown) and Cordyline Red Sensation (not shown). This is a new look that I can’t wait to try out, but remember, full sun. Great eye catching look for pots, small raised planters or retaining walls. You want this to be in your face because it will look good all year. California