The lavender, when I first planted it last year.

The lavender, today.

When I created a spot for the lavender at the side of the porch steps last year, I was so proud of myself for keeping it alive in a pot inside all winter. Yes, it was a little wilted, and yes, it needed more sun and hadn’t grown as much as I’d envisioned. Still, it was larger than it has been when I bought it and it seemed fundamentally healthy. Looking at the plant today, I am embarrassed to even admit that it’s the same one I planted last year. How pathetic last year’s plant looks, and how enormous this one is! I had imagined it filling the spot and becoming large and vigorous like some of the others I’ve seen around town; I had no idea that might happen in a single year. Every time I see the small herb that’s quickly becoming a shrub I’m glad I put it in the ground when I did.

Having it in a spot we pass every day is also a useful reminder to stop trying to grow perennial herbs in pots; while the sage survived the winter the (second) rosemary did not and the thyme is beyond pathetic. One of this year’s tasks is to determine a spot where the herbs will have enough sun and room to grow long-term and plant them out into the ground.