In my previous post, I wrote about the Red Poppy which is an international symbol of remembrance for all those who have fought and died in war. Another flower, which symbolises remembrance, is rosemary.
On our Anzac Day, we often combine poppies and rosemary in the wreaths, or floral tributes, we place on our war memorials or on headstones in cemeteries for service personnel. This is my table centrepiece with rosemary from my garden. I plan to add some poppies tomorrow on Anzac Day.
According to Philippa Werry’s beautiful book on Anzac*, rosemary grows wild on the Gallipoli peninsula. She writes that a wounded soldier brought home a rosemary cutting from Gallipoli, and a hedge from that cutting grows to this day in the Waite Arboretum near Adelaide, Australia. Also included in the book is a beautiful poem by New Zealand poet Alistair Te Ariki Campbell called ‘Gallipoli Peninsula’. Some of you may be able to access it on this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVzC47BEcyQ. It begins “It was magical when flowers appeared on the upper reaches….. ” This poem has also been set to music. This link will give you a brief sample of the music being sung by the New Zealand Secondary Schools’ Choir ( http://sounz.org.nz/works/show/20973 )
Rosemary, or Rosmarinus officinalis, is member of the mint family. Rosemary derives from the Latin for ‘dew’ (ros) and ‘sea’ (marinus) and can be translated as ‘dew of the sea’. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosemary). I think “dew of the sea” is a perfect description for the gentle blues and greens and sea foamy hues of rosemary.
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- Dew of the Sea
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- Lest we forget
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- Known Unto God
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- Rosemary
* Anzac Day, The New Zealand Story by Philippa Werry
© silkannthreades
silkannthreades 
I’ve had 2 of my Australian readers recommend Paul Ham’s book “Kokoda” for ANZAC story after I told them what a wonderful article was in the April-May issue of “Archaeology”. Have you read that book?
I have the Arp variety that survives our winter. A few weeks ago the delicate flowers appeared, and are a hint of what’s to come. Doesn’t it smell heavenly? Thanks for reminding me to go and bring some inside and not just for cooking.
Really heavenly, I agree. The Arp variety is probably the one that is grown by the City Council in the small garden areas that border our city streets. It is very hardy.
What a lovely tradition! Thanks for all of the wonderful contextual information. Until I read this post, I’d never heard of Anzac Day.
Anzac Day is very special to us and the Australians. Supposedly our shared experiences at Gallipoli marked the beginnings of our coming of age as New Zealanders and Australians rather than mere members of the British Empire.
I learned lots of new things about rosemary reading your post and all the comments. On our Memorial Day holiday, flags and green wreaths are commonly placed in the cemetery.
There is something very lovely and life affirming about an evergreen wreath.
A lovely tribute to rosemary! (one of my favorite herbs!)
Aren’t we lucky to have such a wonderful herb? 🙂
Yes. Truly we are!
I love all the connections that important dates have with plants. That doesn’t seem to be the custom in the US, or at least I am not familiar with it. We usually have objects or things (flags, yellow ribbons, etc.)…not plants.
Each of your states has a state flower, I think? And maybe a state bird too. We use the daffodil for Cancer Appeal Day and for Alzheimers, the flower is the Forget me Not. They could be universal symbols. I am not sure. But, in general, it is lovely to have flowers associated with important times.
We also use daffodils for cancer.
Oh thank you; that is good to know. The universal language of flowers 🙂
Yes, you’re right about the state flowers. My comment was geared more to celebrations and recognitions such as Labor Day, Memorial day. Oh, yes…we do have Arbor Day and May Day where the custom is to leave a smaller gathering of flowers on the doorsteps of people you know. One year I my students makes small bouquets and we took them to the retirement housing next to the school. The kids would place the flowers on the doorstep, ring the bell and then go hide out of site. Great fun and a chance to be thoughtful!.
That is such a lovely idea for May Day. I haven’t heard of that being done here.
Nice post!!! Rosemary and lavender oil should be a nice combination, thanks for the info 🙂
I think they are a nice combination 🙂
Lovely! It is also new for me that rosemary and remembrance relationship. Love rosemary as it looks nice and taste good 😉
It certainly does. Do you grow Rosemary?
Yes, I use it often – very popular in every kitchen 😀 It grow outside in some parts of the country…
Oh I am sorry … I use to have it in a little pot, have to get new one!
Wonderful. I am sure I will see it in your recipes one day; or I will see the little pot of rosemary as a table decoration.
As soon as I get new one 😀 Hope I’ll see it in your as well 😉
Lovely.
Thank you.
What a lovely post! We are big rosemary fans here too! I am currently using an organic, paraben-free rosemary shampoo… and I can wait to start experimenting more with rosemary when we get our terrace herb garden up and running again now the snow has melted 🙂
I love the pics too, btw 🙂
Thank you. I haven’t got as far as rosemary shampoo but I am experimenting with rosemary infused water, plus lavender oil ; I spray this on my brush before I brush my hair. I don’t know if it does anything useful but it sure smells good.
I didn’t realise that rosemary is associated with remembrance….or that it is a member of the mint family…..or that it translates into “dew of the sea”…. Every day we learn!!
The mint connection and the meaning of rosemary were new to me too. Those were my little learnings from Wiki today. From a herbal perspective rosemary is supposed to enhance your memory but, as we saw yesterday when I forgot about your post on druzy, it has not worked well on my memory cells 🙂 A few years ago, at a friend’s funeral we were all given rosemary to hold during the service and later to place on her willow casket. It was absolutely beautiful to have the comfort of the rosemary scent which was enhanced by the warmth of our hands.
I did not know about rosemary for remembrance. Lovely photos!!
Ophelia in Hamlet said, “There’s rosemary, that’s for remembrance. Pray you, love, remember.”
I thought that we should have Shakespeare today, given that it was his birthday and the anniversary of his death!!!! April 23, 1564 – April 23, 1616.
How clever of Shakespeare to make his entrance and exit on the same day 🙂 Thank you for the quote from Hamlet. Your quotes are always a delight.
I thought so too!! Very clever indeed!!!
Rosemary is one of my favourites! I use it to marinate feta cheese in olive oil – slurp! Your arrangements are so beautiful…
Rosemary is one of my favourite herbs, too. Lately I have been making a rosemary infusion; not to drink, but to allow the rosemary scents to infuse their way into the kitchen and dining room. I am happy you enjoy my flower arrangements. I am lucky to have flowers to arrange. Imagine trying to make your snow look attractive in a vase 🙂
Ha! Now THAT would be a challenge! 🙂
And I will leave it to you!
a lovely story… I love rosemary too, and I also love the little white butterflies that hover around the tiny blue flowers…
Thank you. I haven’t seen the little white butterflies. When I was picking my rosemary yesterday I was careful not to upset the bees.