A brief history of rosemary...

a common association with rosemary is remembrance. We still use it to signify a special love or friendship and some countries continue to place a sprig of rosemary in the hands of the dead before burial.

Early Greek students wore wreaths of rosemary around their heads to stimulate their memories during exams.

Rosemary was once thought to ward off evil spirits. During the Middle Ages people slept with rosemary branches under their pillows to keep them safe from demons and nightmares.

Demons can take many forms such as unpleasant odors, witchcraft and the Plague--rosemary has been burned or ingested or carried to prevent them all.

The name is either derived from the Virgin Mary fleeing to Egypt with baby Jesus (She tossed her blue cloak onto a bush. The next day, flowers that had been white were blue and the herb became known as "rose of Mary") or because it was an herb that grew in coastal regions, or more specifically by the foam (ros) of the sea (mare).

Apparently, Rosemary only grows in the gardens of the righteous and if rosemary grows vigorously in a family's garden, it means a woman heads the household (sounds about right to me ;) Also, Rosemary will grow no higher than six feet in 33 years so that it doesn't stand taller than Christ.

and all I wanted it for was to make apple and rosemary jelly tonight :D