One of the most useful and lovely plants in our garden is the Rosemary. All year it delicately perfumes the garden with its gorgeous aromatic scent as you brush against it. Rosemary is a Mediterranean plant with fine needle-like but very soft leaves that emit a beautiful aromatic scent when handled or brushed against.
In summer it is glorious with its pretty flowers, delicate leaves and lovely aroma and even in the depths of winter I can stroke the leaves and smell the delicate scent on my hands.
Being evergreen it provides structure and something lovely to look at when nothing is flowering and many shrubs have lost their leaves.
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Beautiful Aromatic Rosemary In Flower. Photo By Raintree Annie |
Ways To Grow Rosemary
- We grow it as a decorative shrub on its own as a single plant where we enjoy its beautiful scent and its pretty tiny bluish flowers.
- It is also grown as a low hedge with several plants spaced about a foot apart growing into each other to provide a loose hedge that can be clipped to the desired height and width.
- We keep young plants in pots near the house for clipping new shoots for cooking and baking.
- It is always a lovely idea to grow Rosemary where you will be walking close by. So by a path or a seating area where you get the benefit of the aromatic scent every time you or your visitors pass.
- It is evergreen and takes very little looking after. It is easy to propagate and simple to grow. We grow it in the garden in the ground and we also have it in pots.
- Rosemary has its individual needs and likes just as any plant but I feel it is a very straightforward herb that most people can grow in their gardens, patios, or even when young, on a window sill.
- Whether you have a large garden or a small garden, whether you incorporated it into your garden with other shrubs and flowers, or grow it in a herb garden as in the photo below, it is a very versatile and lovely plant.
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| Herb Garden Barnsdale Garden Geoff Hamilton. Photo By Raintree Annie |
Care Of Rosemary
- We should plant rosemary in the Spring or Autumn/Fall. I always do it in Spring in my clay soil garden so they get a chance to establish themselves before the winter hardships start. If you have more suitable soil you could do it in either season.
- Add some bark compost or leafmould or simply fine gravel or grit to the planting hole in order to break up the soil structure and improve the drainage if you need to.
- Each year we should give Rosemary a gentle prune once she has finished flowering to prevent her from becoming woody or spindly. Watch for any damaged or dying branches as well and prune those out.
- Pruning Rosemary is one of my favourite jobs in the garden as it is so fragrant and easy to do. Apart from those few jobs, there is nothing much else to do regarding regular maintenance.
- The only pest that bothers Rosemary is the Rosemary beetle. The small metallic-green and purple-striped beetles can be found on the underside of the leaves. I am lucky that we have never been troubled by it, but it is becoming more common. The beetle itself was once thought to be a severe problem to Rosemary, but it has since been found that it usually doesn't cause too much damage.
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| Rosemary Flowers Photo By Raintree Annie |
Soil And Water Conditions For Rosemary
- Being from the Meditterean, Rosemary loves to bask in the sunshine, so a sunny spot is a must for this plant. It likes free draining soil and a sheltered place in the garden.
- Having said that I currently have three very healthy Rosemary plants growing in full sun and a sheltered position, but in heavy clay soil, which is far from ideal. I do worry about them each year in winter when the soil becomes a claggy, heavy, cold and wet place to be, but so far they have coped admirably with this. They have managed because I grew them in pots for a couple of years before I planted them in the garden. So they were bigger stronger plants when they had to cope with the less than ideal circumstances.
- I do however take cuttings every year and have some Rosemary growing in pots of well-drained soil in case I lose the bigger plants.
- If you have anything but well-drained soil I would recommend you take cuttings every year. I do not think Rosemary will live as long in heavy clay as it would in ideal well drained soil but they are healthy. If I was starting the garden again I would grow Rosemary in a raised bed so that I could give it ideal conditions.
- In terms of watering, I never water the shrubs in the ground. Even in last summers heatwave Rosemary was perfectly happy. I do water the rosemary in pots and the cuttings when they become dry.
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| Last Years Rosemary Cuttings Photo by Raintree Annie |
Propagation Of Rosemary Cuttings
I take cuttings every year from the Rosemary bushes I have and so always have an abundance to keep or give away.
Taking cuttings is very easy. I have never grown Rosemary from seeds and understand that can take a very long time. So it is best to buy your first Rosemary, then take cuttings to make more.
Before you prune the rosemary for cuttings have everything you need handy. Cuttings can dry out very quickly and if they do they will not grow, so act quickly,
- You require gritty compost, pots preferably terracotta but plastic will do, hormone rooting powder if you can get it, a pencil, a watering can full of water, a sharp knife and secateurs.
- Cut stems of about 4 to 6 inches long using your secateurs and gently remove the lower leaves. Lay the cutting down on a hard surface and using a sharp knife cut just below a leaf node (the point where the leaf has been growing.)
- If you have hormone rooting power dip the ends of the cutting into it. I often do not have it so skip this step.
- Place the stems into pots already filled with free draining gritty compost. You may need to make a small hole with a pencil first depending on how dense the compost is.
- It is best to place the cuttings around the edge of the pot so they are not touching each other.
- Then simply water well and place it where it is sheltered and shaded, not in direct sunlight, until they have rooted.
- After about 4 weeks check to see how they are rooting. If they are rooting well you can at this point pot them on into their individual pots using a loam based compost.
- If not give them another few weeks. Keep watering well so that the soil is moist but not waterlogged. Once they are in their own individual pots we start them on a feed of liquid fertiliser.
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| Rosemary Spring Photo By Raintree Annie |
I like to incorporate Rosemary into cooking and baking wherever possible and as I grow it we have an unlimited and fresh, organic, pesticide-free supply year round.
It can be used for so many dishes including potatoes, meat and baking. Also in soups and stews, bread, stuffing and roasted vegetables. We love the extra flavour and aromatic scent.
I always prefer to strip the leaves off the main more woody stem and wash in clear, cold water before using.
For ideas on how to use Rosemary in cooking/baking please take a look at the links below.
Reviewing Baking Irish Soda Bread With A Twist by Raintree Annie
Grilled Rosemary Ranch Chicken by Sam Monaco
If you are interested in cooking with herbs you may like this book The Herbal Kitchen from Amazon.
Rosemary Benefits To Wildlife.
Bees love Rosemary! This plant has tiny blue flowers that appear irresistible to bees. All summer they are so busy flying from flower to flower and so intent on their work that it is completely fascinating to watch. It is mesmerising watching bees and I would, if I had the time, watch them for hours, but even a few minutes is such a relaxing pastime.
Personally, I find the scent of Rosemary very soothing and relaxing. I love those little bags of Rosemary leaves to put under my pillow and in my clothes draws to give them a lovely scent.
We give Rosemary in terracotta pots as gifts dressed up with a bow or other trimmings. It makes a simple and quite lovely little gift that the person can keep for a long time.
We cut stems of rosemary and bring them into the house to put in vases like we would fresh flowers. I also buy Rosemary oil to scent our home in diffusers.
I enjoy growing Rosemary and would not want to be without it in my garden. For such a lovely, easygoing, low-maintenance plant it has great beauty and benefits.
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