Rosemary , Culinary Herb

 

 

Something else blooming now besides daffodils is Rosemary officinalis. It is evergreen with needle like leaves and flowers come in several colors, white, pink, purple , and blue. My shrub is several years old and kind of sprawls out even though this one is called an erect rosemary, as opposed to trailing. It is the herb representing remembrance. Rosemary is tolerant of drought as well as a lot of other neglect. I step outside and harvest a few leaves when I need them for spaghetti sauce, soup, or occasional bread making. I have never had any trouble from either bugs or deer eating the rosemary. Sometimes I decorate a kitchen wreath with rosemary. Other than this little pruning, I never prune unless a branch dies. (I had one to die once when the dog nearly uprooted it digging for chipmunks.) It is often sold in pots pruned into a tree shape at Christmas and if you have a potted one, you may need to shape it more than I do in the garden. This is a plant easy enough to grow for beginners. It is my second favorite herb. Lavender is my favorite, but it is much harder to grow, at least for me. I think it resents the prolonged heat and humidity of our southern summers. Or maybe it is this clay.