Because rosemary offers many different growth habits, it is valuable in the landscape as well as the kitchen herb garden. Erect varieties serve as dense hedges or container plants for patios and along sunny walls. Some can be trained as living sculptures called “topiary”. Prostrate types trail or drape over walls or function as groundcovers. With their deep root systems, they help stabilize slopes against erosion as well.

Rosemary is used as a tough, durable groundcover in the arid Southwest. What’s more, the small but numerous flowers attract honeybees and other beneficial insects to the yard. Birds will eat the seeds, but rabbits and deer are reported to avoid rosemary.