Flippin' Nora I have sooooo many reviews to read!!! Kate x
Flippin' Nora I have sooooo many reviews to read!!! Kate x
Member since:17.07.2006
Reviews:148
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Rosemary
When I first came to view this house, I remember getting that feeling, as soon as I stepped over the threshold, that this was to be my home. Standing in the back bedroom, looking out over the garden, I remember thinking it had everything I could ever want in a garden, and it was as much for this, as for the house itself, that I made my offer and bought my first home. The garden was full then of mature shrubs, an apple tree, a huge clematis and a bower of honeysuckle. The land was grassed over, though this was the first thing I changed when I moved in, lifting the turf and laying paths, flower beds, vegetable plots and areas for seating. It was not, however, until after I moved in and had my first real explore of the garden I have come to love and cherish, that I found, nestling in a corner beside the house wall and the border hedge, a huge Rosemary. It is the height of a fiver year old child, and the width of about 3, and it flowers every January without fail. I'm sure this cannot be the norm, but it is south facing, and pulls the heat from the bricks it's growing against, so maybe it feels a little like it's at home in the med in this small corner of my garden!
Rosemary grows best in warm climates, but seems to manage very well in the household gardens of the UK. It likes well drained soil, lots of sunshine, and the occasional long drink of water. It's flowers are tiny pale blue blooms which are always the first to show their colour in my garden every year and entice the bumble bees out of their slumber.
Some people say Rosemary is for remembrance, and I like that idea a lot, however it's not so fanciful as you might think, as studies have recently proven that the smell of Rosemary actually stimulate the memory!
I use Rosemary in cooking all the time - mainly for meat dishes and especially for lamb. There is nothing better in the world in my opinion than a good, slow cooked lamb shank covered with rosemary and served with mashed potato, soft carrots and finely shredded cabbage, all covered over with rich brown gravy…mmmmm!!!
I also use rosemary when I'm cooking potato wedges, as the flavour from the herb really permeates through the cooking potato resulting in a really flavoursome, crispy wedge!
Rosemary is great for making your hair shiny - an infusion of rosemary poured over clean wet hair, or a few drops of essential oil smoothed over clean dry hair, will give auburn hair especially a deep well nourished shine.
In the winter, when it's cold and we put a fire on to warm the house, we sometimes put bundles of rosemary onto the fire and it makes the most amazing smell that filters through the house.
It is fairly easy to propagate rosemary though it takes ages for anything to happen. I had a few disastrous attempts at growing new plants from the older one, and they all failed because I was to impatient and nosy and kept pulling the cuttings up to see if they were doing anything! I have found the best way to propagate rosemary is to take woody cuttings about March/April time, stick them into a bit of un-used ground where they will get sun and rain, but have good drainage too, and then forget about the,. I have 7 plants all flourishing in tubs and ready to be trimmed and shaped next year which have taken 2 years to get this far, but which have taken because I ignored them. So if you're looking to make new plants out of old, where rosemary is concerned, don't pester the cuttings or they won't grow for you, that's my advise!!!
Rosemary is a wonderful, versatile herb, which has many benefits and uses, only a few of which I have gone over here. I love the smell of rosemary, love brushing past it in the garden and finding the smell drifting with me. It is one of my favourite herbs for cooking, along with thyme, and I feel so glad that such a wonderful specimen was already waiting for me when I moved into my lovely new home.
Thank you for reading, Kate x
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