Herb of the Month

Rosemary

Rosemary is useful in the kitchen, medicinally useful, and impressively hardy, making it a great herb to grow in even a small space.

Growing

The easiest way to grow rosemary is from a cutting. Seeds are possible, but germination rates are low and the seeds don’t always breed true to the parent. Find a friend who has a bush; or look out for a healthy-seeming rosemary bush in a nearby garden. Ask for a cutting, or if the plant is really enormous and jutting out into the street, it’s arguably legitimate just to break off a couple of sprigs. Ideally, you should start off cuttings in late spring or early autumn, but it’s worth a go at most times of the year.

Start off a couple of cuttings off rather than just one, in case one of them doesn’t take. If you’re happy to use rooting powder, that will improve its chances, but you can just stick each sprig into a small pot of compost each. They may well root happily anyway. Keep the pot on a sunny windowsill, and/or cut the top off a plastic bottle and put that over the cutting to act as a little propagator. Once your cutting is well-established and has started showing new growth, you should remove the plastic top and move the rosemary into a larger pot. Broadly speaking, the larger the pot, the larger your bush will eventually be, but you can of course transplant it again as it grows.

If you can’t get hold of a cutting (or if you’re impatient to get going!), you can buy a young plant from your local garden centre. Rosemary is hardy and very long-lived, so it’s a one-off expense.

Rosemary, once established, grows well in most conditions. It prefers plenty of sun, but will tolerate some shade, and it likes well-drained soil. It’s fairly hardy and frost resistant – it will survive winter happily in almost all UK locations. Water whenever the soil is nearly dry, and harvest as you need it. Take from the tops of the twigs to encourage a more bushy habit (this may be useful in height-limited areas).

Culinary uses

Rosemary is great with roasted veg, or roasted potatoes in particular. Simply throw a couple of sprigs in with the veg to get a subtle flavour. Sage can also be nice in roasted veg. Rosemary is good chopped more finely in soups and stews, and is particularly nice with squash dishes and tomato dishes. You can even experiment with using a very small amount of rosemary in cakes or biscuits, and it’s very good baked into bread.

Medicinal uses

Rosemary can help to relax digestive and uterus muscles, so using rosemary in cooking or drinking rosemary tea can help with digestive upset and menstrual cramps. It’s also reputed to have a calming effect, and the tea can be used as a mild antiseptic. Rosemary essential oils are good for a hangover or for a headache, so the tea might be worth trying for a headache, too. Steep 1-2 teaspoons of crushed fresh herb in boiling water for 10 minutes to make the tea. The scent of rosemary is believed to be a memory stimulant, so keep a branch around when you’re working!

Some recent studies suggest that rosemary contains some compounds which may help protect against free radicals in the brain, potentially lowering the risk of degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s. Another study in rats demonstrated some potential anti-carcinogenic properties. However, these studies are at a very early stage.

Note that rosemary essential oil (as with most essential oils) should not be used directly on the skin, and if you use it in a bath be sure to stir it well in so it doesn’t sit as a film on the water, or it may irritate your skin. Rosemary essential oil should on no account be taken internally. (Rosemary tea is fine.)

Pregnant and breastfeeding women should avoid consuming large quantities of rosemary, although it’s fine used as a seasoning or in cooking.