About Rosemary
Written by Asinus Asinum Fricat on May 25, 2008 – 11:04 am -In the South of France rosemary grows in huge hedges, like laurel and the colorful oleander.
This wonderful resinous blue flowered shrub is synonymous with the Mediterranean and Mediterranean cooking. It prefers a free draining soil and a sunny position. It can be grown from seed, but is slow that way. Better to buy a plant. There are many varieties. ‘Tuscan Blue’ is upright and strong and can be clipped into a fragrant hedge, ‘Lockwood de Forest’ forms a sprawling ground cover and cascades over retaining walls, and the species R.lavandulaceus is extremely prostrate, although not as cold hardy as R.officinalis (check with your nursery). The smaller forms are well suited to growing in large pots on decks and patios. The more vigorous upright forms need to be chopped back by about two thirds after flowering to maintain dense bushiness. Another tip is this: when you’re cooking and need to use a pastry brush to oil a meat joint or fish, use a sprig of rosemary as a brush. I still do that at home. I use Thyme brushes as well. And another hint: you can use the rosemary sticks to make shish kebabs spears!
Tags: Food, Growing, Herbs, Recipes, Rosemary
Posted in Food, Gardening |
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Rosemary makes me delirious. I love it. I wove rosemary, dried wheat and rosebuds as my ‘crown’ for my wedding. We had a large plant outside the massage school I attended and on break you would find several students breaking off a bit and sniffing it to wake up in the afternoon.
If you can get a good sea salt scrub, add chopped rosemary to it for a stimulating wake-up shower.
I use 25 drops of eucalyptus oil, rosemary oil and tea tree oil in 2 oz water as a summer spray to repel mosquitos. You might have to apply it every 30-45 minutes, but they really don’t like it, and it’s natural and not harmful.
I have two huge rosemary monsters flanking the steps up to my front walk. I have often seen my postal carrier just pausing in between these two bushes, inhaling the fragrance, before proceeding to haul my days’ worth of recycling (catalogs and junk mail make up 90% of the mail I get - it goes straight to the recycling bin) to deposit it at my front door.
I see people buying small packets of rosemary at $3-$5/pop at Whole Foods, and invite them to my house to please snip off what they want - for free!
True story: as a kid, I used to hide behind the massive rosemary bushes instead of going to the local church (I’ve never been religious). I used to take a few snacks with me and spend my time spying on who went in and who went out, chomping on sumethin’!
An old folk saying over here states that in a house where the rosemary blooms lavishly the women rule…sorry guys!!
I have a full Scarborough Fair, along with basil, oregano, several mints, summer savory, chives and several lavenders. I haven’t been able to find a tarragon plant. The rosemary is in a big pot.
Did I mention my 23 tomato plants. Beefstakes, plums, cherry, sweetpea and several other varieties. Peppers, bell, banana and jalapeno. Squash, zucchini and cucumbers.
Busy body!