This blog entry is written for one of my most faithful readers.
Ah, rosemary! Delightful, delectable herb, but successful cooks know that a little bit goes a long way. Rosemary belongs in every kitchen garden, so there is always a little fresh rosemary to put into the appropriate dish—pork, chicken, and, of course, lamb. I love the pine-like fragrance of rosemary which is overwhelming when you run your fingers over it or even when watering the plant in the garden. We always have had a “kitchen garden” with essential herbs near the back door, ready for a quick snip before dinner. Rosemary belongs there, of course, along with parsley, basil, and thyme.
Nurseries in Connecticut display rosemary plants—along with all the other bedding plants—as soon as the weather allows, ready to be transplanted into the garden. Fancy rosemary plants always appear in the stores in Connecticut before Christmas, sculpted to look like miniature Christmas trees—sometimes even sporting miniature ornaments or red bows. These plants come with specific directions on how to keep your rosemary plant alive in the house, but I never knew of anyone who was successful with rosemary as a houseplant—unless, that is, they lived in a hothouse. Rosemary simply requires too much moisture for the usual house heated by a furnace in the winter.
In the north, rosemary is an annual, as it dies back as soon as a killing frost announces that winter is nigh. Since moving to Central Texas, however, I have found that rosemary is perennial, and there are bushes of rosemary everywhere. Why is rosemary so abundant? Because deer hate it. Those people who have surrendered to the local deer population and have given up trying to garden nevertheless find they can have dependable greenery in the yard. Plant rosemary! It comes in upright form (the kind sculpted for mini Christmas trees in the north) and prostrate form which drapes gracefully over stone walls. And when it is really happy, it produces little azure flowers.
In Central Texas, rosemary appears to be the perfect plant. Oh yes, it comes “sculpted” here as well. Pictured is the rosemary “wreath” that I bought just before Christmas, now located in the yard. If you look closely, you will see that the rosemary wreath is framing one of the abundant cactus plants that pop up in the back yard.
Ah, rosemary! Delightful, delectable herb, but successful cooks know that a little bit goes a long way. Rosemary belongs in every kitchen garden, so there is always a little fresh rosemary to put into the appropriate dish—pork, chicken, and, of course, lamb. I love the pine-like fragrance of rosemary which is overwhelming when you run your fingers over it or even when watering the plant in the garden. We always have had a “kitchen garden” with essential herbs near the back door, ready for a quick snip before dinner. Rosemary belongs there, of course, along with parsley, basil, and thyme.
Nurseries in Connecticut display rosemary plants—along with all the other bedding plants—as soon as the weather allows, ready to be transplanted into the garden. Fancy rosemary plants always appear in the stores in Connecticut before Christmas, sculpted to look like miniature Christmas trees—sometimes even sporting miniature ornaments or red bows. These plants come with specific directions on how to keep your rosemary plant alive in the house, but I never knew of anyone who was successful with rosemary as a houseplant—unless, that is, they lived in a hothouse. Rosemary simply requires too much moisture for the usual house heated by a furnace in the winter.
In the north, rosemary is an annual, as it dies back as soon as a killing frost announces that winter is nigh. Since moving to Central Texas, however, I have found that rosemary is perennial, and there are bushes of rosemary everywhere. Why is rosemary so abundant? Because deer hate it. Those people who have surrendered to the local deer population and have given up trying to garden nevertheless find they can have dependable greenery in the yard. Plant rosemary! It comes in upright form (the kind sculpted for mini Christmas trees in the north) and prostrate form which drapes gracefully over stone walls. And when it is really happy, it produces little azure flowers.
In Central Texas, rosemary appears to be the perfect plant. Oh yes, it comes “sculpted” here as well. Pictured is the rosemary “wreath” that I bought just before Christmas, now located in the yard. If you look closely, you will see that the rosemary wreath is framing one of the abundant cactus plants that pop up in the back yard.
1 comment:
Ah yes! Rosemary grows all year around here too! Thanks for the tribute. I loved it.
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