Like many herbs, rosemary is a rather attractive plant. It has long, narrow, spine-like leaves of a silvery, grey-green colour. There is a single species – r.officinalis – but you can buy several varieties. Albus is the most popular and the one I prefer, for it has delicate, blue-mauve flowers and is perfect for culinary use. There is also a white-flowered variety, Miss Jessops, and you can buy a ground cover type, Prostratus, to use in rockeries and the like. It is a dense, pretty bush and, as an evergreen, makes a good [edible!] hedge. Grown to full height, it is between four and six feet tall. Mine is not much more than a year old and stands at a healthy two and a bit feet.

Originating in the Mediterranean, rosemary prefers sunny spots and sandy soil. The sunshine is essential, perhaps the sandy soil less so. My soil here has a lot of clay in it, but is dressed regularly with homemade compost and – aside from a sprinkling of sand and some compost when I planted it – my rosemary bush has thrived in its sunny corner of the heavy-soiled garden. Aside from needing sunshine and as light a soil as possible, rosemary is a strong enough plant. Mine has suffered many an assault from small boys wrestling and football games and has shrugged them off happily. It is winter hardy across most of the south, although it probably will not tolerate prolonged snow and frosts. Perhaps, if you live in the wintry north, you would be better to grow your rosemary in a pot and winter it indoors. All my mother's herbs grow in pots, and although she has no need to bring her rosemary in over the winter, it has grown wonderfully in terracotta. You will at least be able to choose the planting medium – but do remember not to over-water and to give it the occasional feed.

Mostly, I pick and cook with fresh sprigs of rosemary. I just hop outside and snip a half a dozen shoots. However, you can dry it. Just harvest what you need – although do not take too much, no more than say, a quarter of the plant – make it into bunches, and hang it in the airing cupboard to dry. Your towels will smell delicious! Strip the needles, and store them in airtight containers. They will keep for several months. They do say that the strongest flavour comes from the leaves when the plant is flowering, but I have never noticed a difference.

You could also make rosemary-infused oil. This is wonderful for drizzling over the top of soups and for dipping good bread into. I found the method on the internet some years ago, and it is as easy as falling off a log. Take four parts olive oil to one part chopped rosemary leaves (squash the chopped leaves together, you need plenty). Mix them up and put them in a slow cooker for about two hours. Let the mixture cool thoroughly and then strain through muslin into a glass jar. That's it! You have a lovely, green-hued oil that will keep for about two months. You could also make rosemary and garlic butter. It is wonderful for smearing over lamb chops or beef steaks before you grill them. Take half a 250g packet of unsalted butter, two cloves of crushed garlic and a good tablespoon of finely chopped rosemary leaves. Mash them all up together as best you can – a pestle and mortar is best. Once mixed, make a sausage shape of it and wrap it in greaseproof paper. You can keep it in the freezer for a couple of months. Just saw off a slice or two, as you need it. Do not use butter straight from the fridge, or it will be hard work. Let it soften a bit first!