Rosemary herb plants
Rosemary is an attractive, fragrant evergreen herb with needle-like foliage and beautiful blue blooms. It has a dense growth habit and produces pale blue late spring to early summer flowers that have been a familiar sight in British gardens for hundreds of years. It is mainly used for seasoning meat and poultry dishes using either fresh or dried leaves. The long, narrow leaves release their aromatic oils every time something brushes past them and the nectar-rich blooms are attractive to bees, butterflies and other beneficial insects. Rosemary grows larger than most other herbs, technically growing as a shrub to reach up to 1.5 metres (5 feet) tall. To harvest rosemary, gently pull away a small sprig from the main stem or use secateurs to remove larger branches for roasting. Native to the Mediterranean, rosemary prefers a sunny, sheltered position in a well-drained soil. If you have a clay soil, grow rosemary in pots or containers with crocks at the bottom to improve the drainage and re-pot every few years to refresh the compost. Trim lightly with shears after flowering each year to prevent them from becoming woody and mulch with well-rotted garden compost, manure or leaf mould in autumn.