ARTY'S GARDEN: Remember to Plant Rosemary

Originally published in the Sept. 4, 2013, issue

 

I’m glad that rosemary escaped the cloisters of the herb garden and is beginning to be planted in all parts of the landscape. It is being used in perennial gardens and with, or instead of, traditional foundation shrubs. I have even seen it thriving in sidewalk strips where few plants flourish.

 

Yes, rosemary is a useful culinary herb. It is especially good with chicken, and I have used it to make rosemary biscuits. However, even if you never go near the kitchen, rosemary is still worth planting in your garden. It is attractive, fragrant, drought tolerant, pest free and has a long season of bloom. 

 

My rosemary starts blooming in early August and continues sporadically through fall and winter into March, with the majority of its periwinkle blue flowers appearing in the spring. Most rosemary varieties are blue, but there are a few with white or pinkish flowers.

 

A legend says that all rosemary flowers were white until the Virgin Mary draped her blue cloak across a rosemary plant during the flight into Egypt to escape Herod. Although a legend, it has some basis in fact: people will drape wet laundry across rosemary bushes to dry. The bushes keep the laundry off the ground and give it a pleasant scent. Willa Cather fans may remember the passage from O Pioneers! in which Marie tells Alexandra, “How nice your dress smells, Alexandra; you put rosemary leaves in your chest, like I told you.”

 

People are still delighting in the scent of rosemary today. Rosemary is best planted in a convenient place where people can touch it and enjoy the fragrance it imparts as they pass by. I have mine planted by the front steps.

 

This long-lasting fragrance may be why rosemary is known as the herb of remembrance, as Ophelia reminds us in her mad scene in Hamlet. Few things trigger memory as does an aroma, and the long-lasting aroma of rosemary can trigger memories of home-cooked meals, Christmas decorating (rosemary is an excellent choice for greenery) or old-fashioned sachets.

 

Georgia garden centers, especially those with large herb selections, offer numerous varieties of rosemary including a prostrate form that cascades over walls. Rosemary can be planted any time of year, but spring and fall are best. Rosemary prefers limy, well-drained, even stony soil and lots of sun. Remember, it is native to the cliffs of the Mediterranean; try to make it feel at home.

 

Older rosemary plants take on a venerable appearance with gnarled, woody trunks. This characteristic makes them good focal points for a rock garden or garden path or even a good subject for bonsai.

 

When landscaping, don’t forget to consider rosemary. Although a useful herb, it is not just for herb gardens anymore. In the words of Shakespeare’s Ophelia, “There's rosemary, that's for remembrance; pray, love, remember.”

 

Arty Schronce is the Department’s resident gardening expert. He’s a lifelong gardener and a horticulture graduate of North Carolina State University who encourages everyone to discover the pleasures of plants and gardening.