I have quite an extensive herb garden in the back yard and herbs are the one thing I can actually grow pretty well. Not because I am a good gardener but because they are incredibly ‘idiot tolerant’ when it comes to my gardening abilities! I have yet to find a bug that actually attacks most herbs. They are very drought tolerant, meaning that when I forget to water them they don’t care in the least. And they also have very few nutritional needs beyond plain old dirt with a little bit of manure mixed in. I have been growing rosemary for quite a while and here in Georgia the bush will come back several years in a row before it needs to be replaced. Yesterday I went out to the garden to give the rosemary a trim (again!) and realized that I needed to find uses for rosemary besides cooking or I will never use it all up!
The Many Uses for Rosemary Besides Cooking
So, while I love the taste of rosemary on my food, what else can be done with it around the house? Here are a few uses for rosemary that I have found so far. (these are not for rosemary essential oil…you will need actual rosemary for these)!
1. Repelling Mosquito’s from the yard: Mosquitoes hate the smell of rosemary so have it growing in your yard is a good thing. Snip some rosemary and put it in a glass of water on your picnic table to help keep mosquitoes away from you while you eat.
2. Hair Rinse: Rosemary is great to help clean your hair. Boil half a cup of rosemary in 2 1/2 cups of water. Let cool and use it as a final rinse in the shower. It will help moisturize hair and eliminate dandruff.
3. Cat Repellent: Cats do not like the smell of rosemary. If you want them to stop digging in your garden bed, sprinkle freshly snipped needles around the garden.
4. Gift Accent: Need to give mom a gift? Tie a few sprigs of fresh rosemary on the package with pretty ribbon for a decorative and beautiful smelling present!
5. Aromatherapy: A few sprigs of rosemary simmered in a pot of water on the stove will give your kitchen a wonderful smell. Rosemary is helpful to alleviate headaches, improve mood, support memory function, and improve respiratory health.
6. Fire-starters: Tie several sprigs of rosemary together and hang them up to dry for a few days. Toss this dried bundle into the fireplace before you light your fire. It will help your far burn easier and give off a lovely smell.
7. Steam Treatment: One of my favorite uses for rosemary is to use it in a steam facial. This helps open your pores and refresh your skin, leaving you will clearer skin and smaller pores. Check out how to make a steam facial on Pinterest for directions.
8. Homemade Skewers: Okay, technically this one is cooking related but use the leftover rosemary ‘sticks’ as skewers the next time you grill kabobs!
9. Make Rosemary Tea: Rosemary has shown many therapeutic benefits and one of those is memory support. For people who are struggling with their memory, this idea may be helpful.
10. Sore Throat Aid: Rosemary is helpful in treating sore throats. Steep rosemary in hot water and let cool. Use this as a gargle with or without a bit of salt to help sooth a sore throat.
Do you have any uses for rosemary that you would like to share?
Diane is a professional blogger and nationally certified pharmacy technician at Good Pill Pharmacy. She earned her BS in Microbiology at the University of New Hampshire and has worked in cancer research, academics, and biotechnology. Concern over the growing incidence of human disease and the birth of her children led her to begin living a more natural life. She quickly realized that the information she was learning along the way could be beneficial to many others and started blogging and freelance writing to share this knowledge with others. Learn more about her HERE.
Great ideas! I really like planting it to repel mosquitoes. I really need to get some close to my vegetable garden.
I have found that it does like a LOT of sun but when it flowers in late summer the bees love it!
I never knew you could use rosemary for so many things. Thanks for sharing. My student gave me a rosemary plant recently, and my husband planted it in my backyard, but I didn’t know what to use it for, other than cooking.
That is such a nice gift for a teacher! Glad I could help!
Good to know, as my rosemary from last year has resprouted! I never knew it was perenial!
I think it depends on the zone you are in and how harsh your winter is. I know we lost ours after a particularly cold southern winter a few years back!
I love the idea of using it as a beautiful accent to a gift, what a fragrant and elegant idea! I love how big rosemary bushes get, but have always wondered what else could be done. I had a friend make little rosemary wreaths for a party, it was wonderful.
I tried making wreaths from real pine branches and it was harder than I thought! I think working with smaller rosemary branches would be easier!
I love Rosemary! Thanks for the ideas. We use Rosemary for treatment of fleas: http://www.wikihow.com/Get-Rid-of-Fleas-Naturally
thanks for the tip! I am very allergic to flea bites!
dear diane,
my name is victoria knight and i love your information on rosemary, but i am doing a report on the plant rosemary and decided to use some of your information since “uses of the plant” is a required topic, so i have to do a bibliography on your website. but the problem is i dont know your last name!! if you personally decided not to put it on your site, i can just do without it, but please consider.
Thanks for stopping by. Online sites generally don’t require a name for author as far as I know. Just the site, title and date accessed. Hope this helps.
Had a cat that hung out in the rosemary bush all the time.