Rosemary and holly...Colonial Williamsburg Christmas spray.
"Winter, a lingering season, is a time to gather golden moments, embark upon a sentimental journey, and enjoy every idle hour. " ~ John BoswellI was strolling through my Christmas pictures from Colonial Williamsburg and down the lane lined with memories associated with each one. This particular arrangement had been passed by and passed over many times without a pause to study or reflect on its beauty. Perhaps it was that this was the first summer past that I had really gardened at our new house or perhaps I simply had not noticed the rosemary before, thinking the greenery, often overlooked, was simply some other form of evergreen... at any rate, the rosemary suddenly lunged out of the screen and grabbed me.
The Colonial Williamsburg wreaths are all made of natural materials that grow in the area... except for the pineapples, I think they ship them in and did so even in Colonial times. I'm used to seeing wreaths of pine and fir and even magnolia leaves but it never occurred to me that rosemary would make such a lovely arrangement. I planted a bush rosemary and an upright rosemary in the flowerbeds and in a patio pot this summer and have discovered that they thrive in the cooler temperatures of fall and even winter. When most of the other plants have lost their color, the rosemary, sage, parsley and even the fennel (minus the black swallowtail caterpillars) has weathered the cold and the snow.
More sturdy than the fine feathery yarrow leaves and yet more delicate than the stiff and sticky fir, the rosemary finds that balance to support the strawflowers, red holly berries, lotus pods, golden yarrow and that one dried artichoke in the center. I think it is a lovely spray and what a heavenly fragrance as well. Rosemary is considered the herb of remembrance; how could I have passed it over so many times?
"As for rosemary, I let it run all over my garden walls, not only because my bees love it but because it is the herb sacred to remembrance and to friendship, whence a sprig of it hath a dumb language." ~ Sir Thomas More(end of post)
