Rosemary and Winter

I was watching TV Sunday night and thinking that I needed to vacuum because the rosemary had lost a lot of leaves and it was all over the carpet.  So yesterday, I decided to prune the shrub since it didn’t look very healthy.  There were a lot of dead leaves but to my surprise there were also some small purple flowers.  I guess it’s not doing that bad after all.  I could not resist taking a couple of pictures and that made me think I could write about keeping an herb garden inside over the winter season. 

So here is the story of our little rosemary tree.

Close up of Rosemary flowers

As you know we have a small garden and in the summer we grow our own vegetables and fine herbs.  One of them is rosemary.  Chris bought it two years ago; it was a small seedling that we planted sometime in June 2010.  In October it had grown quite a bit and we wanted to keep it but were unsure if it would survive winter outside.  So we transplanted it in a large pot and brought it in.  It spent the winter in front of the patio door facing south and did not suffer too much except for some branches that were facing away from the window.  Came summer, we put it back in its spot in the garden and it grew some more.  Now it’s in front of the same door waiting for summer to come.  Seems like it’s doing OK since it's blooming.  We also brought some parsley and chive inside but those guys are not doing so great.  The parsley might survive but I’m not convinced that the chive will.  We certainly won’t be eating fresh parsley and chive this winter unless we buy them at the grocery store.



Close up of Rosemary flowers

Did you know that rosemary is an evergreen shrub and that it can become as tall at 6 ½ feet.  Ours is about 3 ½. It is drought resistant and its name derives from the Latin words ros marinus, which translate into dew of the sea because in many locations it needs no water other than the humidity carried by the sea breeze to live.



Rosemary shrub

I have to admit that this last picture is not the best but I wanted to give you an idea of what the whole thing looked like. 

So next fall if you feel like it, just take a pot, a shovel and some earth and have your own inside winter garden.  Freshness is always good in the middle of winter.

PS: I haven't vacuumed yet.  I'll get to it soon, I promise.

What will happen in 2012 ?

 Is it going to be the end of the world as some illuminates say or is it going to be the same ol same ol routine stuff day after day?  As we say in Québec “Métro, boulo, dodo”.  Well actually, lately it’s been more: stuck in traffic, work, stuck in traffic and sleep.  But let’s not start the New Year on a negative note.  Let’s get positive.  Let’s say that the Champlain Bridge won’t fall, that the economy is gonna get better and I’ll stop getting older.  Wishful thinking? Maybe for the last one anyway.  

However, there are some things that I’m sure of:

1- I will get a new computer.  I have been thinking about it for awhile but now I have the perfect excuse to go get it: I need a portable one for class.  It’s required, so now I don’t have a choice. I need one since I have been working from my boyfriend desktop for the last year.  Hurray, I finally can get a MacBook Pro.

2- I will start my website on Laurentians wild flowers.  Those of you who’ve been following me know that I love flowers, so I decided to put my love and knowledge to use.  I’m building a site that will help people easily identify the flowers that they find when they go for a walk in the woods, a park or in their neighbourhood.  I’m hoping that it will raise awareness in the importance of preserving environment.

3- I will expose my photographic work at the local Community Art Center. This is all part of the plan to get people interested in their immediate natural environment so they will be more incline to preserve it.  Some of my wild flower pictures will be shown for one month starting April 1, 2012 at la Maison du citoyen et Place de la Culture de Boisbriand.

4- I will continue taking courses at the HEC Montréal to improve my management and e-marketing skills.  I have already taken two courses and I am working toward a DESS (Specialized graduate diploma) in E-business.

5- I will work as a consultant for l’AVEQ (Association des Vétérinaires Équins du Québec).  I’m in charge of getting their Website functional and writing its content.  That’s a project I have been thinking about for a long time.  Now it’s going to happen.

As for the rest: eating better, getting more exercise, being more patient, and winning the lottery…..I’ll try to make it happen, but that, I’m not sure about.

To all, I wish a Happy New Year and a lot of sure and less sure things.