reviving rosemary: old wisdom vs. new fixes in winter gardens
This winter took me back to the chilly, dry seasons of my childhood, when my grandmother would wrap her rosemary bushes in burlap and scold us for forgetting to water. Now, decades later, I find myself facing the same struggle—my arp rosemary, once lush and fragrant, is brown and brittle at the base, but still bursting with flowers up top.
It’s funny how some of us cling to the old ways—let nature take its course, prune only in spring—while others swear by modern tricks: aggressive winter pruning, mulch blankets, even heat lamps. My neighbor, a recent transplant from California, insists on pruning hard and fast, while I hesitate, haunted by memories of my mother’s careful hands and the fear of losing a plant that’s been in the family for years.
Here in our North American neighborhoods, where the winters are unpredictable and the HOA has opinions about ‘scraggly’ plants, the debate gets heated. Should we prioritize neatness and community standards, or let our gardens show the scars of a tough season?
For me, the brown leaves are a reminder of family stories and the stubbornness of old plants—and old gardeners. I’m tempted to prune the dead growth, but part of me wants to leave it, to see if resilience wins out. What do you do when tradition clashes with new advice, and when your garden becomes a battleground between nostalgia and modernity?
#rosemarydebate #wintergardening #familytraditions #Gardening
