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With Sonya Gordon

  • Rub, Breathe, Notice: A Mindful Breathing Practice With Fresh Garden Herbs

    Some of the most calming moments of summer begin with a simple gesture: reaching down to rub a leaf of mint or rosemary between your fingers and breathing in. The scent arrives all at once, bright and green, and for a moment your attention is completely in the present. That small act can become a mindful breathing practice of its own, one that uses the herbs growing on your porch or windowsill.

    Why fresh herbs work well

    Fresh herbs carry their aroma in tiny oil glands on their leaves and stems. When you gently rub or crush a leaf, those glands release their scent into the air. The fragrance is natural and noticeable but much softer than a concentrated essential oil, which makes fresh herbs a gentle partner for breathing practice. They also give your hands something to do and your eyes something to look at, which can make it easier to stay present.

    You do not need a garden. A pot of basil on the kitchen windowsill or a bunch of mint from the farmers market in a glass of water works just as well.

    The practice, step by step

    • Choose an herb. Mint, basil, rosemary, lemon balm, thyme and lavender are all good choices.
    • Sit or stand comfortably, and take one natural breath to arrive.
    • Look closely at the plant for a moment. Notice the shape, color and texture of the leaves.
    • Gently rub a leaf between your thumb and fingers, or pinch it lightly.
    • Bring your fingers near your nose, without touching, and breathe in slowly through your nose.
    • Pause for a moment at the top of the breath, then exhale slowly through your mouth, as if blowing gently across a cup of tea.
    • Repeat for three to five breaths, noticing how the scent changes as you go.

    Noticing and naming

    As you breathe, try to describe the scent in three words, silently or aloud. Is it sharp, sweet, cool, peppery, piney or lemony? Does it remind you of anything, such as a kitchen, a season or a person? Notice where you feel the breath most, in your nose, chest or belly. When your mind wanders, return to the scent on your fingers.

    If you have more than one herb, move slowly from one to the next. Comparing mint with basil, or rosemary with thyme, is a playful way to sharpen your attention. Children often enjoy this as a game, and it can be a nice way to share a quiet moment in the garden.

    Gentle cautions

    Stick to herbs you can identify with confidence, and avoid any plant you are allergic to. A few plants, such as rue, can irritate the skin, so it is best to work with familiar culinary herbs. Wash your hands afterward and avoid rubbing your eyes. If strong scents tend to bother your breathing or bring on headaches, skip this practice or keep the herbs at a comfortable distance, and talk to your doctor if you have concerns.

    Bringing it into the day

    Keep a small pot or a jar of cut herbs where you pass often, such as a kitchen counter, a desk or the porch steps. Each time you walk by, pause for a single scented breath. On hot July afternoons, a quick break with a sprig of cool mint can become a small, refreshing ritual. Over time, the herb itself becomes a reminder to slow down, notice and breathe.

  • Alternate Nostril Breathing Explained: A Step-by-Step Guide to Nadi Shodhana

    Of all the traditional breathing practices, alternate nostril breathing may look the most unusual. You sit quietly, use your fingers to close one nostril at a time and guide the breath gently from one side to the other. It sounds complicated, but after a few rounds most people find it easy, rhythmic and absorbing. It can be a lovely way to settle into a quiet moment on a hot afternoon or before bed.

    As with any breathing exercise, it should never feel forced. If you have a respiratory or heart condition, are pregnant or have any health concern, talk with your doctor first. It is best practiced when your nose is clear, so skip it if you are congested.

    A little background

    In yoga, this practice is often called nadi shodhana. The Sanskrit word nadi refers to the channels through which energy is said to flow in traditional yogic thought, and shodhana means cleansing or purifying. Versions of the practice appear in classical hatha yoga texts and are taught in yoga classes around the world today. You do not need to adopt any particular belief to try it. Many people simply enjoy the focus and rhythm it brings.

    How to practice

    Sit comfortably with your back tall and your shoulders relaxed. Rest your left hand in your lap. Bring your right hand toward your face. Many people fold the index and middle fingers into the palm, using the thumb to close the right nostril and the ring finger to close the left. Others rest the index and middle fingers lightly between the eyebrows. Either way, use a soft touch.

    • Close your eyes and take a natural breath in and out.
    • Gently close your right nostril with your thumb and breathe in slowly through the left.
    • Close the left nostril with your ring finger, release your thumb and breathe out through the right.
    • Breathe in through the right nostril.
    • Close the right nostril, release the left and breathe out through the left.
    • That is one round. Continue for five to ten rounds, always switching sides after each inhale.

    When you finish, lower your hand, breathe naturally through both nostrils and sit quietly for a minute.

    Tips for a comfortable practice

    • Keep the breath slow and smooth, but never strained. There is no need to breathe deeply or hold the breath.
    • If your arm tires, support your elbow with your other hand or a pillow.
    • If you lose track of which side you are on, simply return to breathing through both nostrils and begin again.
    • If you feel light-headed, stop and breathe normally.

    Traditional instruction sometimes includes breath holds and specific counts. Those are best learned with an experienced teacher. The simple version here is enough to enjoy the practice.

    Making it a ritual

    Alternate nostril breathing fits easily into the day: a few minutes in a cool room after coming in from the heat, a pause in the afternoon or a gentle bridge into sleep. Pair it with a quiet corner, a soft light or a favorite scent in a diffuser at a gentle setting. Over time, the familiar rhythm of right and left, in and out, can become a small anchor you return to whenever you want a few minutes of calm.

  • Bhramari, the Humming Bee Breath: A Soft Sound to Close the Day

    There is something soothing about a low, steady hum. Many of us do it without thinking while we cook or fold laundry. In yoga, humming is the heart of a breathing practice called bhramari, often translated as the bee breath. Its soft, buzzing sound fills the head and chest, and many people find it a lovely way to settle at the end of a busy summer day.

    Like all breathing practices, bhramari should feel easy and comfortable. If you have a respiratory, heart or ear condition, are pregnant or have any other health concern, talk with your doctor before trying it, and stop if you feel dizzy or uncomfortable.

    Where bhramari comes from

    The name comes from the Sanskrit word bhramara, a kind of large black bee, because the sound of the practice resembles a bee’s hum. Bhramari is described in classic texts of hatha yoga, including the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, a manual written in the fifteenth century that lists it among several traditional breathing practices. Today it is taught in yoga classes around the world, and many teachers share a simplified version with children as bee breathing.

    How to practice

    • Sit comfortably on a chair, a cushion or the edge of your bed, with your spine tall and your shoulders relaxed.
    • Close your eyes. Rest your hands on your knees or in your lap.
    • Gently close your lips, keep your teeth slightly apart and let your jaw relax.
    • Breathe in slowly through your nose.
    • As you breathe out, make a steady, low humming sound, like a bee, for as long as is comfortable.
    • At the end of the exhale, breathe in again through your nose and repeat.

    Start with five to seven rounds. Afterward, sit quietly for a minute with your eyes closed and notice how your body feels, without trying to change anything.

    Exploring the sound

    Try varying the pitch of the hum. A lower hum may be felt more in your chest, while a higher one tends to buzz in your face and head. Notice where you feel the vibration most. Some people like to rest their fingertips gently on their cheeks or throat to feel it more clearly.

    A traditional variation involves pressing the small flap of cartilage at the front of each ear gently with the index fingers, softening outside sounds so the hum seems to fill the inside of the head. If you try this, use the lightest touch, never push anything into the ear canal and skip it entirely if it feels uncomfortable or if you have any ear concerns.

    When to try it

    Bhramari fits well into an evening routine: after a shower, before reading in bed or at the end of a long day when you want to shift gears. Because the sound can carry, many people prefer a quiet room where they will not feel self-conscious. It can also be a fun practice to share with children, who often enjoy pretending to be bees and seeing how long they can make their buzz last.

    There is no need to do it perfectly. The point is simply to breathe slowly, enjoy the sound and let the hum mark the moment when the day begins to wind down.

  • Legs Up the Wall: A Restful Evening Pose for the End of a Long Summer Day

    After a long July day of errands, yard work or hours on your feet, there is something wonderful about lying down and letting your legs rest up against a wall. This simple position, known in yoga as viparita karani, is one of the gentlest restful poses there is. It asks almost nothing of you, needs no special flexibility and can become a quiet part of your evening wind-down.

    As with any new movement practice, check with your doctor first if you have concerns. People who are pregnant, have glaucoma or other eye conditions, high blood pressure, heart conditions, or back, neck or hip problems should get personal advice before trying it.

    Setting up

    You need a clear stretch of wall and a soft surface to lie on, such as a rug, a yoga mat or a folded blanket. Some people like to do the pose on the bed with their legs against the wall behind the headboard.

    • Sit sideways with one hip close to the wall.
    • Lean back onto your elbows, then swing your legs up the wall as you lower your back to the floor. It may take a little wriggling to get comfortable.
    • Let your sitting bones rest a few inches from the wall. You do not need to be right up against it; a little distance often feels better, especially if the backs of your legs feel tight.
    • Rest your arms by your sides, palms up, or place your hands on your belly.

    A folded blanket or a small pillow under your head can make the position more comfortable. Some people like a folded blanket under the hips as well, but keep it simple to start.

    Settling in

    Once you are in position, let the wall hold your legs. Allow your feet to relax and your knees to soften slightly if they want to. Close your eyes or let your gaze rest softly on the ceiling.

    Turn your attention to your breath. Notice the rise and fall of your belly without trying to change it. You might feel your shoulders melting toward the floor and your jaw softening. If your mind starts making lists, gently bring it back to the breath or to the sensations in your legs and feet.

    Stay for five to ten minutes, or as long as feels comfortable. Many people describe a pleasant feeling of lightness in their legs and a sense of stillness in the rest of the body. If your feet begin to tingle or feel uncomfortable, bend your knees and bring the soles of your feet together, or come out of the pose.

    Coming out slowly

    When you are ready to finish, bend your knees toward your chest and roll gently onto one side. Rest there for a few breaths before pressing yourself up to sitting. Take a moment before standing, especially if you feel light-headed.

    Making it part of your evening

    Legs up the wall fits easily into a summer night. Try it after a cool shower, before reading in bed, or while listening to a calming piece of music. Dim the lights, run a fan for a gentle breeze and let this be the moment the day officially ends. A few quiet minutes with your legs resting against the wall can turn an ordinary evening into a small ritual of rest.

  • The Blue Hour: Understanding Twilight and Making a Ritual of Dusk

    There is a stretch of time after the sun slips below the horizon when the world seems to pause. The bright colors of sunset soften, the sky deepens into blue and the trees turn into dark silhouettes. Photographers call it the blue hour. For anyone looking for a gentle way to end a summer day, it is an invitation to stop and watch.

    The three stages of twilight

    Twilight is the time between day and night when the sun is below the horizon but its light still brightens the sky. Astronomers divide it into three stages, based on how far the sun has dropped.

    • Civil twilight begins at sunset and lasts until the sun is about six degrees below the horizon. There is usually enough light for most outdoor activities, and the brightest planets and stars begin to appear.
    • Nautical twilight continues until the sun is twelve degrees below the horizon. The sky darkens, but the horizon can still be seen, which made this stage useful for sailors navigating by the stars.
    • Astronomical twilight lasts until the sun is eighteen degrees below the horizon. After that, the sky is as dark as it will get, and the faintest stars become visible.

    The blue hour is not an official term, but it usually refers to the deep blue sky of civil and early nautical twilight. In Middle Georgia during summer, civil twilight lasts roughly half an hour, so the most vivid blues come and go fairly quickly.

    Look east, too

    Most of us watch the western sky after sunset, but the eastern sky offers its own show. On clear evenings, look opposite the sunset for a soft pink band just above the horizon, sometimes called the Belt of Venus. Below it, a darker blue-gray band slowly rises: the shadow of the Earth itself, cast onto the atmosphere. Watching that shadow climb as the pink fades is a quiet reminder that the planet is turning beneath you.

    A ritual for dusk

    Watching twilight is one of the simplest evening practices there is. It needs no equipment and only about thirty minutes of your time.

    • Check the time of sunset in a weather app and plan to be outside about ten minutes before.
    • Choose a spot with a wide view of the sky, such as a porch, a field, a park or a lakeshore.
    • Put your phone away, or take one photograph and then set it aside.
    • Watch the colors shift from gold to pink to deep blue, and look for the first star or planet to appear.
    • Notice the sounds changing as the day birds go quiet and the evening insects begin.
    • When the blue has faded to dark, take a slow breath and head inside.

    Why dusk feels restful

    For most of human history, the fading of daylight marked the end of the working day. Even now, with electric lights and screens, there is something in the slow dimming of the sky that seems to invite us to slow down too. Taking a few minutes to witness the shift from day to night can make the day feel truly finished.

    In July, when days are long and the heat lingers, twilight brings the first hint of cooler air and a natural pause between a busy day and a restful night. Make it a habit a few evenings a week and you may find yourself looking forward to it as one of the quietest, loveliest moments of summer.

  • The After-Supper Stroll: Evening Walk Traditions Worth Bringing Home

    As the heat of a summer day finally begins to ease, towns in many parts of the world come alive in a particular way. People step out of their homes after the evening meal, not to exercise or run errands, but simply to walk. They greet neighbors, stop to talk, let children run ahead and watch the light fade. It is one of the oldest and gentlest ways to end a day, and it suits a Georgia summer beautifully.

    The passeggiata and its cousins

    In Italy, the evening stroll is called the passeggiata. In many towns, people dress a little nicer, walk slowly along the main street or around the central piazza, and visit with whoever they meet. Teenagers gather in groups, older couples walk arm in arm and families push strollers. It is less about getting somewhere than about being part of the community for an hour.

    Similar customs appear across the Mediterranean and beyond. In Spain, it is the paseo. In Greece, the volta. In many towns in Latin America, the plaza fills in the evening with families walking, talking and enjoying the cooler air. In hot climates especially, the evening is when life moves back outdoors.

    The Southern evening walk

    The American South has its own version, even if it has no special name. Before air conditioning, many families spent summer evenings outdoors, sitting on porches and walking through the neighborhood once the worst heat had passed. A walk around the block after supper was a chance to visit, to stretch the legs after a big meal and to enjoy the first breath of cooler air. In small towns, the courthouse square or main street was often the natural place to stroll.

    How to make it your own

    An after-supper stroll does not need a plan or a fitness goal. Its pleasures are simple:

    • Go at an easy pace. This is not a workout. Walk slowly enough to talk comfortably and notice what is around you.
    • Keep it short. Fifteen or twenty minutes is plenty. The point is the ritual, not the distance.
    • Invite others. Walk with your partner, children, a friend or the dog. Let it be a time for unhurried conversation.
    • Leave the phone in your pocket. Use the walk as a break from screens and notifications.
    • Greet your neighbors. A wave and a few words are part of the tradition.
    • Notice the evening. Watch the sky change color, listen to the birds settling and feel the air begin to cool.

    Summer evening practicalities

    In a Georgia July, it is often still warm after supper, so wait until the sun is low or behind the trees. Wear light clothing and comfortable shoes, and bring a little water if you will be out for a while. Mosquitoes tend to be active around dusk, so use an insect repellent according to its label if they bother you. As it gets darker, wear something light-colored or reflective, carry a small flashlight and stick to sidewalks and familiar routes.

    The after-supper stroll is a small ritual that changes how an evening feels. It marks the shift from the busy day to the quiet night, gives you a few minutes of fresh air and connection, and sends you home ready to rest. Try it a few evenings this month and see whether it becomes a habit you want to keep.

  • Tending Herbs Through a Georgia July: Watering, Harvesting and Heat-Tolerant Choices

    By July, a Middle Georgia herb garden is in full swing. Basil is bushy, rosemary is fragrant and the mint is trying, as always, to escape its pot. It is also the month when herbs feel the most strain. Long, hot days, heavy humidity and sudden downpours followed by dry spells can leave even sturdy plants looking tired. A little attention now keeps your herbs productive and lovely through the rest of the summer.

    Water wisely

    Watering is the most important summer task, and timing matters.

    • Water early in the morning, when less water is lost to evaporation and leaves have time to dry before evening.
    • Aim at the soil, not the leaves. Wet foliage in humid weather can invite problems.
    • Check containers daily. Pots, especially small and terracotta ones, can dry out in a single hot afternoon.
    • Water deeply and less often for herbs in the ground, so roots grow down rather than staying near the surface.

    Not all herbs want the same amount. Mediterranean herbs such as rosemary, thyme, oregano and sage prefer to dry out between waterings. Basil, mint and parsley like more consistent moisture. Push a finger into the soil an inch or so deep; if it is dry, it is time to water.

    Shade and shelter

    Some herbs welcome a break from the afternoon sun in a Georgia July. Parsley, mint, chives and lemon balm often look better with morning sun and afternoon shade. Container herbs can be moved to a spot out of the hottest hours, and grouping pots together helps them hold moisture. A light layer of mulch around in-ground plants conserves water, but keep it pulled back from the stems of Mediterranean herbs, which like dry crowns.

    Harvest often

    Regular harvesting is good for most herbs, and July is a time of plenty.

    • Pick in the morning, after the dew dries but before the heat sets in, when leaves are most fragrant.
    • Pinch basil just above a pair of leaves, and remove flower buds to keep it producing leaves longer.
    • Take no more than about a third of a plant at one time, so it can recover.
    • Use, share or preserve the extra. Fresh herbs are wonderful in summer meals, infused water and simple bouquets.

    Let some herbs bolt

    Cool-season herbs such as cilantro, dill and parsley often bolt in the heat, sending up flower stalks and slowing their leaf production. Rather than fighting it, consider letting a few plants bloom. Their flowers feed bees and other pollinators, and cilantro gives you coriander seeds. Dill and parsley may also host swallowtail caterpillars. Plan to sow fresh cilantro and dill again when cooler weather returns in the fall.

    Herbs that handle the heat

    If your garden struggles every July, consider adding herbs that truly love hot weather: basil in its many forms, including Thai basil, along with lemongrass, rosemary, oregano, thyme and Mexican mint marigold, a sunny herb with a tarragon-like flavor that often handles Southern summers better than French tarragon. For local advice on varieties and timing, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension is an excellent resource.

    And remember to care for the gardener. Work in the cooler hours, wear a hat, keep water nearby and take breaks in the shade. Ten quiet minutes among the herbs in the early morning can be one of the most peaceful parts of a summer day.

  • From Monastery Plots to Savannah’s Trustees’ Garden: A Short History of the Herb Garden

    A small herb garden by the kitchen door can feel like a modern pleasure, but it is part of a very old tradition. For well over a thousand years, people have set aside special plots for fragrant, useful plants, and the shape of those gardens tells a story about how people lived, cooked, worshiped and studied the natural world. Georgia has its own chapter in that story.

    Gardens of the ancient world

    People have gathered and grown herbs since long before written history. In ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome, herbs flavored food, scented homes and played a part in religious rites. Greek and Roman writers described hundreds of plants and their uses, and one first-century Greek work on plants, written by a physician named Dioscorides, was copied and consulted for well over a thousand years.

    Monastery gardens

    After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, much of Europe’s garden knowledge was kept alive in monasteries. Monks and nuns grew herbs for the kitchen, the infirmary and the chapel, often in neat, rectangular beds inside walled enclosures. A famous early medieval drawing of an ideal monastery, known as the Plan of Saint Gall, includes a dedicated herb garden laid out in tidy beds near the infirmary.

    Around the year 800, the emperor Charlemagne issued a decree, often called the Capitulare de villis, that listed the plants to be grown on royal estates. It included dozens of herbs that remain familiar today, among them sage, rosemary, fennel and mint.

    Knot gardens and physic gardens

    By the Renaissance, herb gardens had become art as well as practice. In Tudor England, knot gardens arranged low hedges of herbs into intricate interlacing patterns meant to be admired from above, often from an upstairs window. Plants such as thyme, hyssop and germander were trimmed into living ribbons.

    At the same time, universities and scholars began creating physic gardens, collections of plants grown for study. The botanical garden at Padua, in Italy, founded in 1545, is often described as the oldest academic botanical garden still in its original location. In London, the Chelsea Physic Garden was established in 1673 by the city’s society of apothecaries.

    A Georgia chapter: the Trustees’ Garden

    When the colony of Georgia was founded in 1733, its leaders laid out an experimental garden in Savannah, known as the Trustees’ Garden, modeled in part on the Chelsea Physic Garden. The hope was to test which plants might thrive in the new colony. Mulberry trees were planted in support of a hoped-for silk industry, along with fruit trees, grapes, herbs and other plants brought from distant places. Not every experiment succeeded, and the silk dream faded, but the garden is remembered as one of the earliest public experimental gardens in the American colonies.

    What the old gardens can teach us

    Through all these centuries, a few ideas stayed constant. Herb gardens were close to the house, easy to reach and organized so each plant could be found and tended. Many included a path, a border and a place to sit. Even a few pots on a sunny step can borrow that wisdom. Group your herbs where you pass every day, label them, give yourself a place to pause and enjoy the scents of plants that people have loved for so long.

  • Fennel: Feathery Fronds, Greek Legends and a Favorite of Swallowtail Caterpillars

    Few herbs are as graceful as fennel. Its tall stems rise in clouds of fine, feathery leaves, green or a lovely smoky bronze, topped in summer with flat, golden flower clusters. Brush against it and you catch a sweet, licorice-like scent. Fennel has a long history in the Mediterranean world, and in a Georgia garden it brings an unexpected gift: a summer home for butterflies.

    Fennel in Greek history and myth

    The ancient Greek word for fennel was marathon. The plain of Marathon, site of the famous battle in 490 BC, is generally thought to have been named for the fennel that grew there. That makes the modern marathon race, named for the legendary run from that battlefield, a distant cousin of the herb.

    Fennel’s relatives appear in myth, too. In the story of Prometheus, the Titan who stole fire from the gods to give to humanity, the fire was carried hidden inside the hollow stalk of a giant fennel plant, a close relative of garden fennel whose dry stems smolder slowly. Giant fennel stalks were also used to make the thyrsus, the staff carried by followers of the god Dionysus.

    Fennel through the centuries

    Fennel traveled widely. Romans used it in cooking, and in medieval Europe it was hung over doorways on Midsummer’s Eve as part of old seasonal customs. In colonial New England, fennel and dill seeds were reportedly carried to long church services and nibbled during sermons, earning the nickname meeting seeds.

    In India, fennel seeds, often roasted or candy-coated, are commonly offered after meals as a mouth freshener, and you will often see a small bowl of them near the door of Indian restaurants. In Italian cooking, fennel bulb is sliced raw into salads or roasted until sweet, and fennel seed flavors many sausages.

    Growing fennel in Georgia

    Herb fennel, grown for its leaves and seeds, handles summer heat well and is easy to grow from seed in full sun and well-drained soil. Bulb fennel, the kind grown for its swollen base, prefers cooler weather and is usually best planted for spring or fall harvests here. A few tips:

    • Give it space. Fennel can grow several feet tall and does best with room around it. Many gardeners grow it apart from other vegetables.
    • Cut the flower heads before they drop seed if you do not want volunteer seedlings next year, or let a few mature to harvest the seeds.
    • Be certain of what you have. Fennel belongs to the carrot family, which includes some dangerous lookalikes such as poison hemlock, so never forage wild plants that resemble it.

    Sharing with swallowtails

    If you grow fennel, there is a good chance you will meet the caterpillars of the black swallowtail butterfly, which feed on plants in the carrot family, including fennel, dill and parsley. The striking green, black and yellow caterpillars can strip a plant quickly, but they will become the beautiful black-and-blue butterflies that drift through Southern gardens in summer.

    Many gardeners simply plant extra fennel and think of it as a butterfly nursery. Watching the caterpillars grow, and perhaps spotting a chrysalis hanging from a stem, is one of the quiet joys of a July garden. It is a lovely reminder that a garden can feed more than just the people who tend it.

  • Oregano and Marjoram: The Mountain Herbs of Greek Lore and American Kitchens

    Oregano and marjoram are so closely related that even experienced cooks sometimes mix them up. Both belong to the same plant genus, Origanum, both carry a warm, aromatic scent and both thrive in the kind of hot, sunny weather that defines a Georgia July. Yet each has its own character and its own story.

    The joy of the mountain

    The name oregano is often said to come from two Greek words meaning mountain and joy, a fitting name for a plant that grows wild across sunny Mediterranean hillsides and fills the air with fragrance when crushed underfoot. In ancient Greek and Roman tradition, both oregano and marjoram were linked with happiness. Marjoram in particular was associated with the goddess of love, and according to tradition, couples were sometimes crowned with wreaths of marjoram at their weddings.

    Throughout medieval and early modern Europe, marjoram was a favorite in kitchen gardens and knot gardens, grown for its sweet scent and for flavoring food. It was also among the fragrant herbs strewn on floors in some households, releasing its scent as people walked over it.

    How the two differ

    Although they are cousins, oregano and marjoram are not identical.

    • Oregano, Origanum vulgare and its relatives, has a bold, peppery, slightly bitter flavor. It is a hardy perennial that spreads over time.
    • Sweet marjoram, Origanum majorana, is gentler, sweeter and more floral, with hints of pine and citrus. It is tender in cold winters and is often grown as an annual.
    • Mexican oregano, often sold alongside the others, is actually a different plant from another family, with a more citrusy, earthy flavor suited to many Mexican and Southwestern dishes.

    From Mediterranean hillsides to American kitchens

    Oregano has been used in Mediterranean cooking for centuries, but in the United States it was little known outside immigrant kitchens until the twentieth century. Its rise is often credited to American soldiers returning from Italy after World War II with a new love for pizza and other Italian dishes. As pizza parlors spread across the country, so did the familiar scent of dried oregano.

    Today, oregano is a pantry staple, and marjoram brings its softer flavor to soups, eggs, vegetables and herb blends. Oregano is one of the few herbs that many cooks feel is just as good, or even better, dried.

    Growing both in summer heat

    Both herbs love the sun and handle heat well, which makes them good choices for Middle Georgia gardens.

    • Plant in full sun with well-drained soil. Like thyme, they dislike soggy roots.
    • Water deeply but not too often once plants are established, especially for oregano in the ground.
    • Harvest regularly by cutting stems just above a pair of leaves, which encourages bushier growth.
    • Let some stems bloom. The small pink, white or purple flowers are magnets for bees and butterflies.
    • Cut back leggy growth in midsummer to encourage a fresh flush of leaves.

    On a hot evening, step outside and gently rub a leaf of each between your fingers. Notice the difference: oregano’s bold, peppery warmth and marjoram’s softer sweetness. It is a simple way to get to know two old friends of the herb garden.