Vegetation management after several weeks of neglect has been . . . interesting. While we were unable to work, and during their most active growth of the year, weeds proliferated more than they had ever gotten away with before. As most get cut down by weed whackers, I pull those that mingled with desirable plants that weed whackers must avoid. It is a tedious process.
One of the more tedious of these projects, and perhaps the most tedious so far, required the removal of abundant weeds from a dense row of carpet roses. Fortunately, it was not as bad as I expected it to be. They young man who weeded this area during winter had done a remarkably thorough job, and eradicated most of the dreaded oxalis and tougher perennial grassy weeds.
The weeds that I pulled were big and impressive, but pulled out relatively easily. A few thistles were unpleasant to handle, but even they came out easily. Mock strawberry between some of the roses was still in good condition after the weeds that mingled with them were gone. I realize that I do not adequately appreciate all the weeding that happens here that I am not aware of.
Besides mock strawberry, another species that gets to stay in parts of the area that it spreads into is some sort of oregano. It seems to be common Italian oregano, but also seems to develop leaves that are slightly larger than they should be. It is too docile to be a problem for the roses, but occupies space that would otherwise be taken by weeds. Besides, it is nice to have around.
Even oregano needs to be managed sometimes. Quite a bit of it got pulled from the roses along with the weeds. I suppose it must be dried now.
Tony Tomeo 
I have an oregano that gets a bit wild too. Smells nice though.
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This oregano had been so well behaved. It creeps around, and only produces a few blooming stalks annually. It really did a nice job this year, but unfortunately did it where it should not have. It is still there, so will be back. I just pulled it out where it could not stay.
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I also had my problems with origano in my herb bed. It was slowly but surely expanding and I really do not need so much for cooking. When I had my garden remodelled I got rid of it, but am a succour for punishment. I somehow missed my fresh origano in my spaghetti sauce and planted some again. At the moment it is under control, but am keeping my eye on it.
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It can be quite practical if contained. There is no point in growing too much, particularly if it takes up space that other more useful plants could use. Rosemary tends to do that, just because it is such an appealing plant anyway.
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I also grow oregano in the greenhouse, but the leaves appear smaller than yours and more rounded. I cut 3/4 of the plant each year and I dry the leaves but the fresh leaves are tastier …
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I can grow just about anything that will live here, but never learned how to cook. I will dry the oregano that no one else takes. I will bury the roots that came with some of it, so that another patch of it can grow here . . . even though I do not know what it is.
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I’ve only grown oregano in a pot, so it stayed in control, but I sympathize with the weed pulling. I have pulled bushels and the oxalis is frustrating.
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I am fortunate that the weeding has been easy and limited to spaces that the weed whackers can not get into. They young man who does the weeding here does not have it so easy at other times of the year.
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I need to take out a lot of oregano in both the front and back flower beds around the house. We have had so much rain here that it isn’t as fragrant as I’d like it to be fore drying, so I suppose I’ll toss it along the outer rim of the canyon slope, where it will become a ground cover of sorts – IF it survives the poor soil there!
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Was it planted, or did it move in on its own?
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Time to make Mojo chicken or Cuban Black beans
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Hey, I can grow just about anything, but never learned how to cook.
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My oregano (I think it’s Greek) is a spreader. It’s walked across the garden in a little serpentine trail. Every year I have to pull some of it, but it’s so lovely dried and in pasta and chopped up in salads. It does bloom and the flowers are nice additions to bouquets. I suppose it just has to be managed.
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Greek oregano is what I was more familiar with when I was a kid, and what many of those of Italian descent preferred. It might have been more popular just because it happened to get shared around the neighborhoods first. Hey, my people are resourceful like that. The funny thing was that those of Greek descent sometimes bummed Italian oregano from those of Norwegian descent because they preferred it for some of their olives.
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Now that…is interesting. And those must have been very interesting Norwegians.
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Oh, there were no Norwegians there. We were all Californians.
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Ornamental oregano is a real monster in my garden. It requires active management to keep it from taking over everything. And if you actually want to remove the root clumps you are well advised to get the pick ax.
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Ornamental?! It just looks good? Real oregano is not much to look at.
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Oh, I just looked that up. It is . . . interesting. I will stick with the real thing.
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Reblogged this on Tony Tomeo and commented:
Perhaps I should not have put so much effort into eradicating this oregano. Now, there is not enough.
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