Why Late Summer is the Perfect Time to Harvest Rosemary
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There are some plants that seem to belong to every season.
I find that Rosemary is one of them.
It stands quietly through winter when almost everything else has disappeared, flowers gently in spring, and carries on growing through the hottest days of summer without ever seeming to ask for very much.
But it's in late summer — from July into August — that rosemary is at its very best.
After months of sunshine, the stems have hardened, the leaves are rich with aromatic oils, and the whole plant seems to glow with fragrance. Brush past it on a warm afternoon and the scent is unmistakable — fresh, resinous and instantly recognisable.
If you're planning to dry rosemary, this is the moment worth waiting for.
A Herb With a Long History
Rosemary has been valued for centuries, both in the kitchen and around the home.
It has flavoured everything from roast potatoes to freshly baked bread, but it was also gathered to freshen rooms, tucked amongst linen, and woven into small posies and garlands. Long before air fresheners and scented candles existed, herbs like rosemary brought fragrance into everyday life.
There's a reason rosemary has become associated with remembrance. It's one of those scents that has a remarkable way of staying with you — in the warmth of a kitchen, the pocket of an old coat, or the memory of a summer garden visited years before.
Drying it at home is one of the simplest things you can do, and one of the most rewarding.
When to Harvest Rosemary
Late summer is generally the best time to harvest rosemary for drying. So anytime from Mid July to the end of August.
Choose a dry morning once the dew has evaporated but before the strongest heat of the day. At this point, the plant is full of essential oils and the foliage is beautifully aromatic.
Cut healthy stems from the current season's growth, avoiding old woody branches wherever possible. Taking little and often is kinder to the plant than removing large amounts all at once.
Back on the farm, we simply gather small bundles and tie them loosely with twine before hanging them somewhere cool, dry and well ventilated.
Within two or three weeks, the leaves should crumble easily from the stem, ready to store in airtight jars until you need them.
More Than a Culinary Herb
Although rosemary is best known as a kitchen herb, it's surprisingly versatile.
A small bundle hung near the back door releases its fragrance every time you brush past. Dried sprigs can be tucked amongst linen or added to botanical pot pourri, where they bring a lovely resinous depth to softer flowers and herbs.
Rosemary works particularly well alongside lavender, cedarwood and pine — fragrances that share the same calm, grounding character.
From the Upper Usk Valley
Here on the farm, rosemary grows alongside lavender, mint, marjoram and roses, quietly earning its place year after year.
We harvest it by hand throughout the summer, drying it slowly before using it in a handful of our own creations. You'll find it in our Original Herb Soak, where it sits alongside lavender and peppermint in one of our best-loved blends, and amongst the botanicals in several of our home fragrance collections.
Like everything we grow, rosemary reminds us that nature doesn't hurry. It simply follows the seasons.
And perhaps that's one of the reasons we love it so much.
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