Sunday, July 10, 2011

“there’s rosemary, that’s for remembrance.” Shakespeare

I must take a break from the house building and post the story of my Rosemary.  Sixteen years ago my husband found a small house for sale by owner in an airpark in Aguila, AZ. At the time we were living in one of the the two best places in the world, Salida, CO. The other best place is where we are now living.   Doug wanted to live with his airplane and he wanted to work in aviation and that was nearly impossible in Salida. And so we put our Salida house up for sale and moved to Eagle Roost Airpark, Aguila, AZ.   There was only one truly redeeming quality about the house for me and that was the magnificent Rosemary growing in the back yard. I named her Mama Rosy and I nurtured her for 15 years. She in turn produced many little Rosy babies. Some of these I shared with friends. However, there were three which I grew in small pots and brought with me to MI having no idea if they would survive such an arduous journey. Mama Rosy meant more to me than just a simple plant; she was the plant I chose to work with for Susan Weed's Green Allies Herb class because I felt a special pull to this plant in particular and to all Rosemaries in general.  My three Baby Rosies made the trip to MI alive but struggling ever so slightly. When we arrived in early April northern MI was still caught in the grip of winter. I covered my babies up at night and gave them sunshine, when it was shining, during the day. They survived and today there are lovely new and tender shoots growing from each of the three plants.








BTW - when we left AZ Big Mama Rosy had grown from a relatively small plant to approximately 10 feet long, 7 feet wide, and 5 feet high. She was (is?) magnificent. The man who bought our house is not a gardener and thus I worry about Big Mama.

3 comments:

  1. Hi Lindy
    I planted a rosemary plant at Pam and Pauls this year and it's very slow growing. Does rosemary need a lot of sunshine and a dryish soil? Or the opposite? I love rosemary for it's scent, hardiness and great taste on lamb.

    xxLiz

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  2. Wonderful rosemary plants Lindy! I am partial to my rosemary plants too. I had to start a new plant out front by the veggie garden because the two I had out back near the chickens were pecked down to NOTHING!!! Can't understand why the eat the stuff, but oh well. Anyway, the plant I have here is called Arp Rosemary and it is supposed to take cold to zone 6. Although I am sure you are probably much colder than that! This winter was brutal for us, as we had lots of snow and many frozen nights down to nearly 0 deg. They survived!
    Lynda
    PS: I brought several plants from my herb garden in CA with me when I moved, most didn't make it, but a few survived.

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  3. Hey Lindy, I am doing a catch up and can't believe how much progress there has been with your house-build, it's so exciting! We are slowly working our way around the walls, wrapping the timber frames and putting on the cedar cladding.
    I am planning to pot up some baby rosemarys from an old plant in my mum's garden - what would be the best time to pot them up? Do I just take cuttings and pot them?
    Looking forward to rest of your pics :)

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