Dew of the Sea

Herewith some images of our own Rosemary in bloom. This variety, Blue Lady, is one of the common three; the others have white or slightly pinkish blooms. Its name is Rosmarinus officinalis, which, teased apart, means dew of the sea. That officinalis comes from officina, meaning workshop, and Linnaeus et al. presumably mean apothecary shops where such herbs as Rosemary were sold. The unscientific but older tradition associates this herb with helping memory—hence worn at funerals and placed on graves. “There is rosemary, that’s for remembrance,” quoth Ophelia in Hamlet. The herb also alleviates pain, spasms, and helps the circulation. Good for you.

Rosemary likes warm, dry weather and naturally grows in Oregon, California, Texas, and in the two Carolinas—or in Michigan if you let it migrate indoors in the winter. In warm climates it may bloom the year around, but its natural blooming period is mid-Spring. Well, its mid-Spring here, in our sunroom, in December. Our plants think that Brigitte is Mother Nature—and rightly so, I think.