Lavender has silvery green narrow aromatic, soft leaves which are used for perfumes, sachets and potpourris, but can also be used in many sweet dishes. (Photo by Ginny Rosenkranz)
The winter holidays are often filled with baking, both sweet and savory dishes that fills the home with delicious fragrances.
Winter also has special plants that reflect the spirit of the holidays, but there is always room to add other plants that will share the spirit of winter with beautiful green or silver fragrant foliage.
There are two that not only have fragrant foliage, but foliage that can be used in the food we prepare during the holidays.
The first plant is Rosemary, which has dark green needle thin shaped aromatic leaves and grows in an upright, rounded form.
For the season, these beautiful fragrant and useful plants have been grown in a small tree form.
Rosemary is originally from dry rocky areas in the Mediterranean.
As an indoor plant, it should be kept in room with full sun or at least 6 hours of sunshine. If that is not available, the use of grow lights can give the rosemary plants the light they need to thrive.
The plants should be watered lightly only once a week, and the soil should dry out between watering so the roots do not rot.
Every week the plants should be turned a quarter turn to allow the leaves to receive as much sunshine as they can get. Small amounts of the foliage can be trimmed off to use fresh in any savory recipe that requests rosemary.
The foliage can also be trimmed and dries in a small paper bag that has holes punched into it to dry for future use.
The plants also have beautiful small light blue flowers that are edible and can be used to dress up a plate or a dish of food that used rosemary as seasoning.
The second plant is lavender, which is also from the Mediterranean area. They are often called English lavender because the plants can only thrive where there is a warm winter. Southern England has warm winters, as does our own Eastern Shore!
For the season, these beautiful fragrant and useful plants have been grown in a small tree form. Lavender has silvery green narrow aromatic, soft leaves which are used for perfumes, sachets and potpourris, but can also be used in many sweet dishes.
Lavender leaves can be added to a cup of sugar placed in a jar with a top. Shake the sugar and lavender together at least once a day, and after a week the sugar will have absorbed the fragrance of the lavender and can be added in beverages or sprinkled on cookies and cakes. There are many recipes for baking with lavender.
The lavender plants will need at least six full hours of sun light or a grow light.
Like the rosemary plants, the lavender plants should be turned a quarter of the way around so that all of the plant will receive the sunlight it needs.
The plants should be lightly watered once a week and allowed to dry out fully before watering the plants again.
Lavender plants also have tiny fragrant blue flowers that are also edible, and can be used to float in drinks, added as decorations on cakes and baked cookies.
These small fragrant plants can make wonderful holiday gifts for others or as lovely decorations inside your own home.
(Editor’s Note: Ginny Rosenkranz is a commercial horticulture specialist with the University of Maryland Extension.)
