Esteemed plantsman and Bluebird Nursery owner Harlan Hamernik selected this Origanum for its exceptional floral detail. Aromatic, glaucous green-gray leaves compile a shapely drought-resistant bed that unleashes large pendent sprays distinguished by layered chartreuse bracts and small, protruding vivid amethyst flowers. Delivering an unparalleled, several month showing, ‘Amethyst Falls’ can be staged in a container or an easily viewed site with a sunny southwestern exposure and quick-draining soil, while the extravagant quantities of rotund cone-like blooms can be left on to promote winter hardiness. (PPAF)

Blooms August–October

Size: 15" high x 18" wide.

Hardy to zone 5.

Reminiscent of decorative braids, slim blooms emphasize small deep rose and chartreuse bracts and assume a refined aspect. Tipped with tiny purple flowers, clustered bracts are held at nearly right angles to upright and leafy reddish stems. This long lasting, delicate floral presentation is grounded by medium green foliage, and casts earthy yet saturated hues in the border or a bouquet.

Blooms August–October

Size: 6" – 8" high x 18" wide.

Hardy to zone 6.

Though Elizabeth Strangman’s attractive hybrid looks quite dainty, it actually appreciates hot dry conditions. If this isn’t enough to recommend it, ‘Kent Beauty’ produces a plethora of plump rosy bracts—some 2 to 3 in. long—that resemble Hops and are prized by those who love dried arrangements. Rounded and paired, the inch-long, blue-green leaves clasp trailing, thin wine-tinted stems. A natural atop a stone wall, this compact Origanum’s nodding blooms and intriguing foliage make a splendid statement.

Blooms August–October

Size: 12" high x 12" wide.

Hardy to zone 6.

Decorated by small rose-pink flowers, droves of stacked, overlapping pale green and blush-colored bracts look like slender papery ornaments. Superb in dried bouquets, these large fanciful blooms hang from the tips of long, wiry, arching stems, loosely lined with smooth, nearly round green leaves. A little more upright and more open than ‘Kent Beauty’, this captivating Origanum deserves a spot where it can be easily cherished.

Blooms August–October

Size: 12" high x 18" wide.

Hardy to zone 6.

Legions of compact Hop-styled dusky rose-colored bracts—festooned by tiny pink flowers and ideal for drying—reside at the ends of narrow pendulous stems. Exhibiting opposite, rounded green leaves and a form that is similar to Origanum ‘Santa Cruz’, but is smaller statured and not as spreading, this adorable Origanum comes to us from Oregon’s Goodwin Creek Gardens.

Blooms July – September.

Size: 12" high x 12" – 15" wide.

Hardy to zone 7.

Firm violet-tinged leafy stems elevate tightknit clustered maroon buds plus large, long-blooming rose-pink flowers with rich purple calyces. Slowly spreading by shallow rhizomes, the winsome rounded evergreen leaves entertain tiny silver hairs, and plum-colored accents once the weather cools. A sure-to-please Dutch selection, this Origanum’s spicy-scented foliage makes an undemanding deep green foil for the ornamental blooms that befriend bees and butterflies.

Blooms August–October

Size: 15" – 18" high x 18" wide.

Zone 5/6.

Antique-toned, dusty rose-colored, Hop-like flowers, much larger than those of ‘Ed Carmen’, are offset by bright green calyxes and pile up all summer on branched red stems. For a pleasing fusion of color, try it with Penstemon ‘Blackbird’ and Muhlenbergia capillaris.

Blooms July–September

Size: 15" – 20" high x 3' 0" wide.

Hardy to zone 5.

Discovered amid several Origanum ‘Kent Beauty’ seedlings in the namesake’s famed Saratoga, California garden, ‘Virginia Saso’s endearing pastel-hued blooms afford a longer lasting, more abundant floral show than the seed parent. Ample pink bracts, which darken as they age, plus petite pale rose flowers comprise the chubby, pendent hop-like heads. Developing a resilient, low mat-forming habit, its rounded, slightly fuzzy bluish green leaves can ramble between steps, traipse along paths, spill over walls or even grace a hanging basket.

Blooms July–September

Size: 6" – 9" high x 8" – 12" wide.

Hardy to zone 6.

We collected this exceptionally floriferous form of vulgare at Ed Carmen’s nursery and named it in his honor. Multitudes of deep pink blooms and striking, dark purple bracts are held atop sinuous, leafy flower stems some 2-½ ft. above the bluish green mound of basal foliage. To create a harmonious melding of purple and blue, let it sprawl beside a path with Nepeta ‘Walker’s Low’, Euphorbia ‘Dean’s Hybrid’ and Aster ‘Bill’s Big Blue’.

Blooms August–October.

Size: 2-1/2' – 3' 0" high x 3' 0" wide.

Hardy to zone 5.