Tags
-
- a grouping of my herbs; basil, thyme, rosemary and sage
-
- baby lavender just planted in the container in the front
-
- another lavender bush in its second year
-
- Rosemary and Sage
-
- Sage and Rosemary
-
- thyme, one of the fragrances that I especially like
-
- lavender bush in its second year
I don’t know if my motto comes from stubborness, perseverance or tenacity, but there a few plants that no matter how many years have disappointed me, I just can’t accept defeat. I have always loved lavender, I have taken the TGV from Bordeaux to Toulouse and from Toulouse to Marseilles and the fields of lavender are absolutely magnificent. I have, since seeing those those fields from afar and walking amongst the lavender, decided to have my own little piece of lavender paradise here in Blandford. It has been, I would say at least six years of trying and as you can see from my pictures I have gone back to the drawing board several times over. I have a friend of mine just down the road who has several big lavender bushes, so it is possible to grow it here. I have asked for advice and followed her advice but even though I have had some failures in the past, I promise you that I will have my little piece of lavender paradise. My saga extends itself to the herbage as well. In the southern parts of France, rosemary, sage and thyme grow like weeds, now I realize that in the mountains of western Massachusetts I don’t have the climate for keeping the herbs alive all year. So for over a decade, I have made my project in the fall of bringing in my precious flower pots of herbs and trying with all my patience and tender loving care to keep them alive throughout the winter. I have succeeded once or twice with rosemary but never two winters in a row. Chives on the other hand, they grow like weeds up here in Blandford which makes me so happy. I can be cooking anything such as a frittata for example and I can go outside with my scissors and snip as much as I like and voila fresh chives in the frittata. I would love to be able to do that during the winter, but I can’t seem to be able to keep my herbs alive for more than a month or two before they start to fade, diminish and then die. This year I have reluctantly accepted the fact that my house doesn’t have the sun exposure necessary to keep these herbs alive during the cold winters. Sometimes you have to let a dream go, if sometime in the future I rearrange a room in the house around keeping summer plants alive, than I’ll revisit the project of green housing the herbs, but until that day comes I’ll be replacing the herbs annually.
laurieanichols 
I’m in Illinois, and I have been able to keep the Rosemary plant going now for 3 years, it’s a bush, the lavender, no success….My basil plant only lasts for a bit in the summer and whammo, something starts eating it and it’s gone. I’m with you on the never say die, We plant all of my herbs in the spring and then take them outside for the summer. I will keep trying though! Great post!
It is tricky, this year I think the chipmunks ate all of my lily buds so I was deprived of all of my gorgeous lilies. The tiger lilies are fine as well as the day lilies but the special ones that you get at Easter time, all decapitated. I tell you the patience required when you share the outdoor with animal life,lol!!