Rosemary - days of growing Miss Jessopp's Upright

I adore rosemary. In fact it's one of my favourite herbs and the first thing I see and smell as I walk from the courtyard into the garden..

I've only ever grown one variety and that's Miss Jessopp's Upright, which has grown here in my garden for the last twenty years or so.

Here she is, agrowing to nearly one and a half metres in height in her hey day, with pretty, light blue flowers in June and the beginning of July. Her stems stood erect and proud , with the outside stems just the right height for me to pick a sprig as I walked  past , crushed  the leaves and inhaled.


I use rosemary in so many recipes, many involving lamb, garlic and wine. My current favourite marries rosemary with leeks and chard, baked in cream - it's an absolute winner. I also use rosemary to give my hair an extra shine after shampooing and rinsing off the conditioner. I bung a large handful of rosemary stems into about a litre of just boiled water, then steep for about ten minutes. fish out the rosemary and throw over your hair as a final rinse.I've been doing it for years and my hair is very thick and soft, even if I can't get in to the hairdressers until 4th August to have it cut.


Miss Jessopp has not been looking her best for a number of years though. Neglect on my part I'm afraid, and although I've been picking it on a very regular basis. I didn't give her what she needed - a really good pruning. She's been very woody and leggy for ages.

Worse was to come, instead of carrying herself like that the upright and righteous Victorian spinster I imagine her to be named after, she lost her sense of poise. In fact. parts of her became prostrate, and she was looking such an unkempt raddled old dear.I had to put her out of her misery , and it was harder than I imagined. Her roots had grown deep and they were damned hard to dig out.

Mind you there's been lots of rosemary to preserve. A couple of huge bunches are handing from one of the old beams in my aged cottage to dry.

 I chopped four large bags of small rosemary prunings which are now in the freezer for the winter.

  I've also planted a trio of cuttings into a pot...and in a belt and braces move, I've put some cuttings into a jar of water near my windowsill and I'm pleased to say they've taken nicely.

So, Miss Jessopp's Upright will live on, but I also now fancy a trailing variety of rosemary to put in a rockery at the side of the cottage. if you've got any favourites or recommendations...please let me know....