Botanical name: Origanum vulgare
Folk names: Joy-of-the-mountains, English marjoram

Type: Perennial

Wildlife: Favoured butterfly nectar source for Common Blue, Gatekeeper and Holly Blue, Small tortoiseshell, Peacock and Meadow Brown, and bumblebees including the Common Carder bee and solitary bees. Caterpillar food plant for seven types of moth including the Mint moth.

Flowers: July to September

Decorative merit: Tiny, pale mauve flowers, with deeper rose-red buds, clustered on stems. Leaves are aromatic and opposite on stems, 20-90cm high. Low growing, bushy and woody.

Where: Sun. Dry, herb and gravel patches where it can gently form a large clump. Try in a container. Leave seeds over winter as insect habitats then cut to make space for new growth. Plant two or three together in a block to be helpful for feeding butterflies.

Folklore: Do you know any stories about marjoram?

Donate seeds to Exeter Seed Bank