The plant grows best in neutral to alkaline conditions with average fertility. The plant can’t resist waterlogging and some varieties can even catch frost. Rosemary is usually grown on loam soil with good drainage in open and sunny position. The groundcover cultivars can spread and have a dense texture ( 3). It can also be molded into different shapes and hedges and it has also been used for topiary (the art of clipping shrubs or trees into ornamental shapes). Rosemary can grow quite big and remain attractive for many years. The plant is quite easy to grow and is pest resistant. Rosemary is quite an effective and tolerant plant and that’s why it is used as an ornamental plant in gardens and xeriscape landscaping in the Mediterranean climate. The leaves are used as a flavor in different foods like roast meat and stuffing. The plant is used as a decorative plant in gardens where it has pest control effects. The shrub was then called the “Rose of Mary” ( 2). It is said that the Virgin Mary rested her blue cloak on a white rosemary and the flowers turned blue. Legend says that this plant was present around Greek goddess Aphrodite when she rose from the sea. The plant can bloom flowers in December or mid-February. Rosemary has the ability to grow beyond its natural flowering season. The flowers are purple, pink, blue and white in color. The plant is usually grown in spring and summer in temperate climates but it can constantly grow in warmer climates. It has evergreen leaves which are 2 to 4 cm long and 2 to 5 mm broad they are green above and white from below and have short and wooly hair. Its forms are upright and trailing the upright forms can reach up to 1.5 m tall and sometimes even 2 m in length. The plant can withstand droughts and can survive lack of water for a lengthy time period.

The plant is native to the Mediterranean region and Asia but is hard to grow in cooler climates. The leaves are used for many purposes like as a flavoring in foods like stuffing and roast lamb, chicken, turkey and pork. Rosemary is an aromatic shrub with leaves similar to hemlock needles. This genus was named after the 18th Century Naturalist taxonomist Carl Linnaeus. The other closely related species is Rosmarinus eriocalyx of the Maghreb of Africa. Rosemary is one of two to four species of the genus Rosmarinus. The plant has a fibrous root system ( 1). The plant is also sometimes called ‘anthos’0 from the Greek word ‘avoc’ which means flower. The name ‘Rosemary’ is derived from the Latin word for “dew” or “dew of the sea”.

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