Rosemary (Rosmarinus Oficinalis)
Hailing from the Mediterranean, the herb rosemary is a member of the mint family.
Rosemary is a relative of oregano, basil, lavender, thyme, and of course mint.
Throughout history rosemary has managed to become notable in various facets of day to day life.
Many know of rosemary through its use in the kitchen, but this luscious evergreen has a lot more to it than that.
You will find on this page fun insights and some personal encounters with rosemary.
I hope you learn something new today; happy almost spring!
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Growing Rosemary
Rosemary is a rather hardy plant that doesn’t demand too much attention, so long as its roots don’t dry out.
I don’t suggest growing from seed since it takes quite a while and is usually more difficult to get a healthy plant.
One of the easiest ways to propagate the plant is through cuttings.
Using a sharp pair of scissors cut a healthy-looking sprig about 3 or 4 inches long.
But be sure you don’t take it from the main stem, choose a cutting with no developed bark so it can root properly.
If you really want your plant to succeed you can even invest in some rooting hormone that you can dip the cut end of the cutting into before planting.
It might also be helpful to know that rosemary is a perennial that is pretty hard to kill, but it does not do well in cold environments.
So, if you live in Ontario like I do, don’t expect your outdoor rosemary bush to be very perennial.
Rosemary likes humid environments and soil that drains well.
It needs about a half-day of sunlight optimally.
Finally, rosemary tends to get lanky and funky looking as it grows out unkempt.
Be sure to prune the bush down to encourage horizontal growth rather than vertical.
You can easily do this at the same time as you are taking cuttings for use in the kitchen.
Looking for a plant of your own? Follow this link and you cn have one shipped to you:
Richter's Herbs
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Cooking with Rosemary
When I cook with rosemary, for the most part I add it to meat roasts or marinades.
But, you can really add it to just about whatever you want, just remember it is a very strong flavor.
I've learned that the hard way.
There's nothing more surprising than biting into a meal you've worked long and hard to prepare
only to get a mouthful of tough fibrous rosemary leaves that are popping with way too much savoury flavour.
To be honest, I'm not a bad cook per se.
But that's because I can make like 5 things and I make sure I can do at least those 5 things well.
You might find these websites about cooking with rosemary useful:
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Rosemary in Culture
Rosemary is not just aromatic and flavorful, it also has some cultural significance.
The herb has been used in burials rites from ancient Rome all the way to England.
Rosemary has come to represent remembrance and death.
Check out this excerpt from Shakespeare's Hamlet (Act 4, Scene 5, Line 199-209)
describing some cultural and health associations with common herbs:
OPHELIA There's rosemary, That's for remembrance.
Pray you, love, remember. And there is pansies,
that's for thoughts.
LAERTES A document in madness: thoughts and re-
memberance fitted.
OPHELIA There's fennel for you, and columbines.
There's rue for you, and here's some for me; we
may call it herb od grace o' Sundays. You wear
your rue with a difference. There's a daisy. I would
give you some violets, but they withered all when
my father died. They say he made a good end.
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Aromatherapy
Whether or not Willy Shakes knew it when he wrote it,
there actually is some science supporting the claim that Rosemary improves brainpower.
Technically, the scientific jury is still out on aromatherapy in general.
We don't really know beyond the shadow of a doubt whether scents can really affect us medicinally.
But, there are some studies that found rosemary oil diffused into the air to actually improve cognition!
Now, to be sure, there is not as of yet a big enough body of work behind the claim.
We do know that diffusing rosemary oil does improve memory, however, not with lasting effect.
It seems that test subjects have improved retention of the time in which rosemary oil was diffused into the air.
Which means that while rosemary is in the air your brain is better at making memories.
As for the other many claims such as immune vitality, elimination of indeisgestion, and super powers,
there really just isn't enough focus on the herb from the scientific community.
While there is a lot of research being done on this common herb and many others constantly,
building a massive empirical data set that conclusions can be drawn from takes a lot of time,
money, and motivation. So, it is certainly worth trying out.
But seriously, please use proven medicine as your first line and aromatherapy as a healthy add-on.
So what use does this have to you? Well, mostly its just a lot of fun to put my diffuser out while I study.
I use just a drop or two of pure rosemary essential oil.
The air smells nice and reminds me a bit of being outside in the summer, rather than a dark basement.
Who knows, it might actually be helping me along cognitively as well!
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About Me
I'm Ahsif Khair, a second year SASAH and Philosophy student at Western University.
I come from a line of green thumbs with a love of gardening.
My godparents are botanists and I just generally have a love of things green and living.
I decided to make this page about rosemary because its aroma and dark green needle-like leaves
remind me of home, of warmer days, and of healing.