DRUID’S GARDEN Oregano

What a busy time it’s been for me!  It only feels like yesterday I sat down to write last month’s Druids Garden!

Isn’t it funny what we notice when we are busy and more importantly what we don’t!  I had a good friend come up and stay with me for a weekend and it was amazing to take stock and notice all the achievements and beauty in the things we experience and see every day.  Goes to show that whether we can see it or not, there truly is great beauty all around – and as it says in the lessons of Merlin, a wizard is one who views the world anew.
From one quote to another.  A rose by any other name would smell so sweet.  Nope, the offering from the Druids Garden this month isn’t a rose, but Oregano or Oreganum Vulgare.  So why the Shakespearian intro?  If you were like me you would have been interested to know that Oregano is actually a variety of Marjoram!
No matter what you call it, it’s an interesting herb none the less!
Oregano is a member of the Mint family and a Mediterranean herb, originating in the mountains of Greece.  Its name means “Joy of the mountains” more commonly known in those parts as Wild Marjoram.  The history if this variety is deeply entangled with that of its parent herb Marjoram.
The good rockin’ guru of medicine, Hippocrates, used Oregano as an antiseptic as well as a cure for respiratory and stomach ailments!  Suffering from insomnia?  A mild Oregano tea is an amazing sedative – but it’s not good in large doses as it is so strong!
It has great antiseptic properties when used topically due to its high percentage of Thymol, and it’s even been used to aid in the relief of colds, mild fevers, fungal infections, and enteric parasites!
Oregano was having an image crisis, it was a herb like any other, until this pizza rose to prominence and it took oregano with it!  Because of this, sales of Oregano went up 5200 per cent between 1948 to 1956 which is why it was nick named the Pizza Herb!  So we all know it’s great on Pizza, but what else can we do with Oregano?
Here is my favorite vege recipe!!  It’s simple, clean, and tasty as!  Heat up a pan with some olive oil, a few crushed garlic cloves, and ¾ of a teaspoon of dried Oregano and cook until the garlic browns.  Snap beans in half and toss in the pan and cook till they are slightly tender and coated.  Splash with lemon juice and cracked pepper and enjoy!
Oregano is a perennial and just loves full sun. It grows best in well drained soils that are fertile.  If you’re planting from seed, be patient. Oregano does take a while to germinate and detests frost and tall weeds which overpower it easily.  Oregano has beautiful flowers too that can also be eaten!
When using Oregano, go for the leaves, and discard the stems. You can take a few good harvests per year from a healthy plant, and its best to harvest when there aren’t too many yellow leaves.
Oregano is a herb that’s like my humor – it gets stronger the dryer it is!  Check out the wonders of Oregano today!!
Ben Sorensen
Ben Sorensen’s
Druid’s Garden
A History of herbs and their uses
Ben Sorensen is a multi-awarding radio and TV presenter, and host of the popular radio segments, Ben Sorensen’s REAL Country & Ben Sorensen’s Druid’s Garden, heard all over Australia. Ben has a passion for herbs, quantum physics, and promoting a better way of life! For more information on Ben Sorensen visit www.BenSorensen.com   or  www.DruidsGardenOnline.com
Sponsored by:  www.MeditateWithCds.com

Win a Druid’s Garden Pack
This weeks prize is Ben Sorensen’s 2 Multi award winning Meditation and Relaxation CD’s, Forest of Light and Sounds of the Forest! Total of 7 packs nationally, prize pack valued at $45ea.
To go in the draw to WIN this week’s Druid’s Garden Pack simply fill out the entry form at:
 www.DruidsGardenOnline.com