Rosemary from Corsica blooms in January

it is also out in devon [southern england] katarina!!

We have our natural rosemaries here in Central Europe, they are quite huge bushes. Mine had more then meter and meter wide and I had it for almost 10 years. I loved its smell on the sun or after the rain. However, 3-4 years ago there was very drastic winter, with temperatures dropping to minus 24 Celsius and it died.
Slovaks from the Northern Slovakia used to prepare (by distillation) a special type of perfumed water, called "Hungarian water" in the 18th and 19th century. It was used for rheumatism as well as perfume for men and women.

we use it for cooking and it is a symbol for rememberance but im not sure if it is used for perfume or medicine

Rosemary´s name comes from latin "ros maris" (sea rose), that is why I arranged it together with rock rose. It symbolizes not just rememberance, but also love and fidelity.

Very pretty

Its lovely Katarina :-), didn't know it had so many uses, only ever used it in cooking myself but love the smell :-)

I wonder where you use it in kitchen...As it has very strong taste, I found just two meals, where it fits me very well, e.g. pumpkin soup and lamb. Any other experienced combinations?

I make rosemary oil by steeping chopped and bruised leaves in olive oil, and then I roast potatoes in it, having par-boiled them first. I also use it to make rosemary foccaccia (Italian bread).

Hmmmmm. Sounds delicious :)
I will try to make rosemary oil, that is good point. How to make it, please? I mean, how much rosemary in 1 liter of oil and how long has it stay?

I buy sometimes here olive foccaccia, but we do not have rosemary one. I love Italian breads.

I forgot about the roast potatoes, I have done that one, the Italian restaurant that I like puts garlic and rosemary in the pork too.
Foccacia is lovely, I have made that using small pieces of rosemary.

Oh Katarina, my dear, I rarely do precise measurements, but if you take a small bottle of cheap olive oil (maybe half a litre) and chop up (not too finely) or crush in a pestle and mortar a nice big handful of rosemary leaves - Maybe 4 biggish sprigs, and put them together in a wide-topped jar, then shake them together for a few days, and keep it in a cool dark cupboard, it should be ready to use. Don't keep it too long, though - it will eventually go off if you don't refine it (strain off all the leaves, then gently heat the oil for about 15-20 minutes and pour into a clean, dry bottle) Even then it probably won't be so good after a few months. Don't make as much as a whole litre, or you may discover that you don't like it, and it will all be wasted. Let me know how you get on!

OK. Thank you. I will try it this spring :)