Rosmarinus officinalis. That's the Latin name for Rosemary, one of my favourite herbs.
There are clues to its history in the name. Rosmarinus means "dew of the sea". It's a really pretty name for a very tough old Mediterranean, coastal plant. Officinalis tells us that this was an apothecary's herb and so will have had some medicinal uses.
It is usually described as a woody, perennial shrub, and if allowed to grow to its full height of over four feet tall, this is a good description. This doesn't give you any hint of the attractive soft greens and greys the plant takes on when it's kept well trimmed. The new growth that appears after pinching or pruning invites you to run your hands over it and this releases the wonderful, sharp, almost pine-scented aroma. The hotter the weather, the stronger the smell.
It's evergreen, so you can enjoy looking at it all year round. Plants that look this good in winter are worth growing for that reason alone.

Growing your own is easy.
I never bother to grow from seeds, as cuttings are so simple. You could just buy a plant from a garden centre. I would get the one litre size if you can find one.
Wyevale have been selling this size for £2.99 this year. They are doing a special offer of four herb plants for £10.00 at the moment. Starting with this size means you can take cuttings as soon as summer comes.
You can follow instructions from a book to take your cuttings, but I do mine differently. I started using this method, as I wanted lots and lots of plants to make hedges with. I began with planting a short length of hedge beside my greenhouse. It was much admired, and even I was surprised at how good it looked. Easy to look after too. Now I'm starting to edge some of my flowerbeds with it as well.
Here's how I do it.
I take a normal cutting, about six inches long with the leaves stripped from the bottom third. I take lots and cram handfuls into jam jars of water.
Every week I change the water and, after a few weeks, fine white roots start to grow. When each sprig has a nice little root system I separate them carefully and pot each one up into ordinary multi-purpose compost that has a little added sand or grit. Whatever is handy. These grow on in a sheltered corner until they start to put on growth. Then I pinch every tip out and in autumn or spring they're ready for my next lot of hedge planting
I keep all my cuttings on the kitchen windowsill as I'm a bit forgetful and, by doing this, I can't fail to notice when the water needs changing. It looks lovely with all the fresh green and I pretty it up by adding a pink or a rose to each jar. I change the flowers when they start to look past their best.
This summer I rooted about two hundred plants. My windowsill only measures four inches by twenty inches. Clever eh?

In the kitchen, it goes with anything involving lamb. I like rosemary jelly. Just use it to replace mint in any mint jelly recipe. It's very good in redcurrant or cranberry jelly too. Add it to your normal recipe or push a couple of sprigs into a jar from the shop. Store this for a week or two before using so the flavour has time to develop. I make Foccacia bread with it. Top this with a mix of sea salt and rosemary cooked on a baking sheet for 15 minutes in a low oven. The salt keeps as usual in a dry place, so I do plenty and fill a jar with it as well. Don't forget to try it in a classic bouquet garni too. Much nicer than shop bought.

For gifts, dry lemon and orange peel, thyme and rosemary sprigs in a cool oven. Crumble into white muslin squares and tie with a long ribbon. These look really pretty. Hang under the running hot tap at bath time. Heaven!
Fill fancy bottles with olive or sunflower oil and add a few stems of rosemary. Store in a warm place for a few weeks for a good flavoured cooking oil. This works with white wine vinegar as well.