Loving Up the Garden

Crazy for loving up the garden today! Yesterday, I harvested the first few lettuce leaves which became a yummy salad for me and hubby. And today I have four gallon-size hierloom tomatoes to plant and stake. Black Krim, Tiger Stripe, Italian Paste and a gorgeous looking Yellow Brandywine Beefsteak. Just imagine how pretty my salads are going to be. The scarlet runner beans are beginning to climb. The peas are are getting bushy, and despite a woeful lack of sun (please Mr. Sun, stay out!), my basil is valiantly leafing out and devoting a few stalks here and there to spicing up our lunches and dinners.

And speaking of herbs...I do need to sing the praises of my rosemary - well, not just mine, but rosemary wherever it grows. What a delightful, hardy, spicy, aromatic useful little tree-bush this is! Mine grows really well for me. I have it in-ground and I also keep a pot of it on the deck for quick access when I'm cooking up a storm. I can also move the pot close to the house for warmth and winter it over (I wrap mine in little white twinkle lights in the winter, which help to keep the plant warm and look absolutely gorgeous through the sliding doors at Christmastime).

I use sprigs of rosemary mixed in with cut flowers and I love to stick a sprig into a ribbon to decorate a parcel or gift. I once used it to decorate the table for a dinner party, tucking it into napkin rings for each guest. I thought one of the couples coming to visit might be in a tiny bit of tricky water, and since rosemary symbolizes fidelity ... well, it couldn't hurt! The couple seems to be doing really well these days and I like to think it had something to do with this friendly little herb - and possibly the support of good friends, good food and good intentions.

Long known as the herb of remembrance, rosemary symbolizes loyalty and friendship and has traditionally been associated with both weddings and funerals. Believing the gift came from Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty, brides wore it in wreaths as a symbol of their fidelity.