Where Greek oregano is spicy and peppery, sweet marjoram is floral and perfumed, with hints of pine and citrus. It is the defining flavour of a traditional English roast — good sausages, sage and onion stuffing, anything that wants warmth rather than heat.
Often called knotted marjoram for the tight knot-like buds that form in late summer, it makes a neat bushy mound of soft grey-green velvet leaves. It dries better than almost any other herb, holding its scent for months.
Grow it hard. Poor soil and moderate water produce the concentrated oils that give the flavour; pamper it and you get fast soft growth that tastes of very little. Unlike its tough relative oregano it will not survive a British winter outdoors, so lift it in September if you want to keep it going.
