It has been a busy week with spring weather, time for cleaning up the yard, flower beds, vegetable and herb beds. By now if you haven't started seeds, there is still plenty of time. If I get behind I like to get the herbs that are in the grocery store, they are cheaper than at a nursery and you can often times separate them and create multiple plants to expand the harvest. This week I am going to focus on Rosemary and all the things you can do besides just adding flavor. I will admit one of my favorite ways to use fresh or dried rosemary is on potatoes. I love to slice little red potatoes into wedges, drizzle olive oil, dab with butter and generously sprinkle with rosemary, along with salt, pepper and garlic then bake on a cookie sheet. Aside from that, I love to harvest my rosemary and hang to dry. You could also use a dehydrator if you have one, this will preserve rosemary for all year long use.
Rosemary is in the mint family, it can be identified by its woody stem and fragrant needle-like leaves. It can be up to 5 feet tall, or some can be a trailing variety. There are lots of different varieties, with different color flowers. For cooking, the leaves and flower petals are edible. The medicinal qualities come from the caffeic acid, carnosic acid, carnosol, and rosemarinic acid, anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant benefits. The benefits include: stimulating digestion, improves concentration and memory (neuroprotective), circulatory problems, headaches, inflammation, colitis, arthritis, it is also anti fungal, antibacterial, anti cancer and hepatoprotective. Also can help with hair loss, when the oil is added to the scalp, also helps with halitosis (bad breath). You can make a mouth wash using boiled flowers/leaves, essential oil, tincture or infused oil.
Rosemary has so many benefits, it will always be a staple in my herb garden. I love to have different varieties so I can use them not just for the benefits above, but I love to have trailing rosemary to give my garden beauty, I also love to add cuts of the tall rosemary in my flower bouquets in my home. Having the aroma of herbs with the flowers is also therapeutic to have around the house so chemicals can be avoided and I can still enjoy the fresh scents inside. As always please let me know if you have any questions, or want me to go deeper into these topics. Next post I will focus on dandelions, since we all have those growing this time of year. Then I will get back to the herb garden. Hope you all are having a great week and weekend!
Dr. Melanie
