along the garden fence

Rosmarinus officinalis

Mediterranean shrub with glorious flavour as a pot-herb. Height of flowering is in late winter.


The challenge of deciding when is the right time to prune Rosemary (obviously never, in my own case):


http://thegardenist.com.au/2012/06/the-good-graces-of-rosemary/


With Alzheimer's such a grotesque and undignified ending to so many western lives, there's naturally a lot of interest in the traditional association between rosemary and memory enhancement.


"Rosemary produced a significant enhancement of performance for overall quality of memory and secondary memory factors, but also produced an impairment of speed of memory compared to control..."


http://foodfacts.mercola.com/rosemary.html


More clearly, Rosemary has typical antioxidant and antibacterial properties.


Some of the undoubted benefits of Rosemary and other herbs must, I believe, have to do with the psychological or spiritual state that arises from a respectful meeting with nature ... for example, eating what we've grown or gathered ourselves.












Anemone blanda

These plants were given to me by my Mum, a generous gardener, last year. (Come to think of it, she gave me the rosemary plant too...)  They are the Balkan/SE European species Anemone blanda. (Anemona apennina is a slightly taller species of South-Central Europe) I often see patches of A. blanda flourishing beyond the garden fence, but that seems to be as far as it ever gets, so I suppose it  spreads by bulb division but not by seed.

Erisymum

Wallflower, possibly Erisymum cheiri "Sunset Primrose". An early flowerer anyway.



(Photos from 0900 this morning, Tuesday March 21st.)