Superherb! 

Rosemary is a long lived perennial herb that has many wonderful uses.  The plants grow low and will ramble all over or drip down the side of a wall or planter.  The parts of the plant we use are the little needle like leaves.  The are sticky to the touch,  contain lots of oil and are astringent to the nose and pallete.  With Rosemary, a little goes a long way. 

When you want to dry Rosemary, just trim off some of the short stems and lay them in a shallow pan to dry.  The needles will drop off when dry, so you want something to catch them.  You can put them into a paper bag on a shelf to dry also.

Rosemary can be part of your personal fines herbes recipe, but a little will go a long way here as well.  Some of the other ways to use Rosemary:

• Grow it in a pot and train it into a topiary for your kitchen counter.
• Shape into a bonsai tree.
• Whole sprigs are placed over fish and chicken while grilling.
• Boil a tablespoon of leaves in a quart of water.  Add to the bath for aroma therapy to invigorate you.
• The steam from a pot with rosemary will help to open up clogged nasal passages.
• Boil leaves and add to a foot soak.  Especially good for athletes foot and other foot issues.  It has an astringent, drawing effect, to draw out toxins and bad odors.
• Can be added to a 'plaster' for drawing out poisons from wounds.  The astringent effect will continue even after you remove the drawing plaster or foot soak.
• Plant Rosemary near your doorposts as an insect repellant.
• As a culinary herb, Rosemary goes well with red meats, chicken, fish and pasta.

Choose a good hearty red wine low in tannin and sugar to serve when you flavor with Rosemary for a balance.

In warmer zones Rosemary can outgrow it's boundaries, so plan to give it plenty of room to grow.  It likes sun, but will tolerate shade, so you can put it under trees.  It likes an acidic soil, but is pretty versatile.

Don't overwater your Rosemary or it will drop it's leaves after they turn brown.

If you need to cut back the plant, do it sparingly.  It will not survive more than a 1/3 cut back.  If you cut off  more than 1/3 it will die, which is one reason you want to give it room to grow.  A good place for Rosemary is the top of a wall or slope so it can drape down it.

Rosemary puts out little lavender colored flowers that last about 2 weeks each year, depending on where it is grown.

Think about shaping your Rosemary plant in order to contain it's growth where you want it while it is still small.  Wait a couple of years to start harvesting the leaves from a very small plant.

See our Collected Recipes section for Rosemary Fried Chicken!