Another long silence from me – I had a second bout of flu in February that knocked me sideways. Hopefully now recovered but just a short blog this time to get me back in the swing of things. This one is dedicated to rosemary, a wonderful shrub that has flowered all through the winter in various locations around my garden

I have three varieties. ‘Miss Jessop’s Upright’ which describes its habit perfectly, and bears flowers of a lovely pale blue. The prostrate rosemary – also aptly named, with a wonderful arching curling branches covered with deep blue flowers – mine has taken over an old Belfast sink on the patio and looks very pleased with itself there. Finally I have the more unusual and delicate ‘Majorca Pink’ rosemary which I bought after spotting it on plant stand outside local charity shop last year – a lucky find! They all thrive here in my sandy loam.In the depths of winter I occasionally ventured out to look at the garden (when I really didn’t feel up to it) and these plants cheered me considerably with their resilience and when touching them, their lovely medicinal scent.

But now the daffs are up, and everything else looks ready to take off, but it is time for Rosemary to take a well-deserved rest. Later I can use sprigs of her stems in the kitchen, and I’ll take cuttings too for sisters and friends.