Growing & Using Rosemary by Bertha Reppert

Author:Bertha Reppert
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Storey Publishing, LLC
Published: 1996-03-25T16:00:00+00:00

Some Decorative Uses

Used decoratively since the earliest times, rosemary has found its niche in gardens, homes, and hearts. Its charm and heady perfume cannot be denied.

Garlands, chaplets, and wreaths are but a few of the ways to enjoy rosemary decoratively. I gather every dead branch to weave, while still supple, into a large wreath. On state occasions, I adorn my wreath with a nosegay of fresh rosemary and ribbons.

Wreaths. Wreaths are easily crafted by pinning fresh rosemary cuttings to a straw wreath. Other herbs may be included. Use fern pins and overlap the little bunches, always going in the same direction, covering the stems with each succeeding bunch.

Chaplets. Rosemary chaplets are just as easy. Form grapevine or honeysuckle into a circle that fits the head. Bind short rosemary sprigs to it with sturdy thread or wool, always overlapping and continuing in the same direction. Suitable for crowning a bride (with the addition of flowers) or a young communicant, such circlets were worn by Roman and Greek scholars of old to promote thinking, emphasizing the importance of simply smelling rosemary. Today we call this aromatherapy.

Decorations. You might like to try some of these quick and easy decorative hints for enjoying your rosemary:

Bouquets and centerpieces smell sweeter when enhanced with stems of rosemary.

Tiny tussie-mussies are adorable; several bunched sprigs caught with narrow ribbons can be tucked into a white doily to wear, carry, or lay next to a photo “for remembrance.”

Garnish a large roast lavishly with rosemary tips.

Stick a sturdy stem of rosemary into a fresh orange for an old-world traditional New Year’s greeting.

If a rosemary standard has perished, poke the frame full of colorful dried flowers for an attractive, maintenance-free decoration.

Wire a few rosemary sprigs into a tiny circlet to wreath a gift bottle of wine or rosemary vinegar.

Use tiny circlets of rosemary as napkin rings.

Make clever notepapers by photocopying rosemary pieces on a white paper doily background.

Train a 3-foot rosemary standard to dominate a small garden of low-growing herbs such as thyme.

Using porous cheesecloth or old nylons, wrap small snippets of rosemary tightly against eggs you intend to hard-boil for Easter. Placed in a hot dye bath for 20 or 30 minutes, they come out colored, decorated, and ready to serve. The white tracery of rosemary is a lovely touch.

Homemade rosemary baskets are special. Choose a loosely woven basket and weave 6-inch pieces of fresh rosemary into the existing frame. They become part of the basket as they dry.

Tie a generous sprig of rosemary into the bow of an important gift — “for remembrance.”

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