Herb Picks featured for 2022 are especially associated with Madalene Hill, who either discovered the specific herb and introduced it into the marketplace or because it has been named in her honor. Every year, these herbs are found scattered throughout Arbor Gate gardens and especially in The Madalene Hill Herb Garden located at the Herb House entry.

It is actually a member of the verbena family, native to Mexico, and a hardy perennial. Thanks to its verbena heritage, it rewards the herb gardener with lovely pale blue-violet blooms for much of the warm season. Because it has naturalized along the Texas-Mexico border regions, it is often found in border cuisine favored in both countries for its admirable oregano flavor.

Mexican Oregano is quite happy in most Texas regions, except those experiencing frequent hard freezes, and it can be found in better nurseries and in some seed and plant catalogs.