Rosemary at Christmastime

In addition to the evergreen plants considered traditional at Christmastime - firs, holly, cedar, boxwood, mistletoe -- there's another plant that may not be as well known, accepted or recognized in modern days.






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The beautiful rosemary topiary has been showing up in garden shops the past few weeks. Who wouldn't be pleased to receive one of these as a gift?



timelesstopiary.com



The beautiful rosemary plant - classed as a perenial herb - gets its name not from roses or a from a woman named Mary, but from the Latin rosmarinus, which translates to "dew of the sea." Although the rosemary herb is a member of the mint family, it's an evergreen plant that looks and smells very much like pine.

It is a shrubby plant that can grow to be as tall as five feet, if you let it. The stems are covered with slender, inch-long, pine-like leaves. Rosemary flowers aren't very showy, and are usually white, lavender, or blue.

Rosemary was used during the Middle Ages by housewives to spread on the floor at Christmas. As people walked on it, a pleasant aroma arose. Tradition/folklore has it that the shrub is fragrant because Mary laid the garments of the Christ Child on its branches. The night he was born, legend has it, the trees suddenly bore fruit and flowers blossomed out of season.

As I strolled through the garden today I took a close look at my sprawling plants, or which there are many. Rosemary happens to be my favorite herb to grow and cook with, so I have quite a few.






Many of my plants need trimming and fertilizer, as they are growing out of shape and aren't as vibrantly green as they could be:











Dead limbs need to be removed to reinvigorate the plant:














During my walk I broke off some dead twigs and they looked interesting to me, so I haphazardly tied red and green ribbon around them and thought they looked very pretty. In past years I have gathered the twigs during winter to throw into the fireplace for the pleasant aroma they produce.

An interesting side note about twigs in general: In 2005 when Claus and I visited his relatives in Germany, his uncle had gathered numerous bundles of small sticks and twigs from his property, bundled and tied them and set them aside for pickup. I thought they looked absolutely charming, and when I asked about them, he said this was done for a practical reason -- that the debris pickup trucks would only take them if they were tied into bundles. So it was a recycling thing instead of an artistic endeavor as I had imagined!










Rosemary trivia:



Humans have long believed that rosemary can improve memory, which is why it was so often used in weddings and funerals.


A bride might wear a wreath made from the rosemary plant to help the couple remember their wedding vows.


Mourners would throw sprigs of rosemary into graves, a symbol that the dead would not be forgotten.

The Chinese believed that rosemary could cure certain ailments. They used rosemary to ward off headaches and even cure baldness.


The Greeks believed that rosemary could aid the liver and improve digestion.

Whether or not you believe in the power of rosemary, it sure tastes good in certain recipes, is a great garden plant and is beautiful at Christmas.



Are rosemary plants offered for sale as a Christmas evergreen where you live?