"Mine's squeezed between lavender and sage, and it's thriving despite the tight quarters."
Same here—my rosemary's wedged tightly between oregano and some marigolds, and it doesn't seem to mind one bit. Honestly, I haven't done much with soil amendments, but I did toss some gravel into the planting hole for better drainage (mostly because I had extra lying around). Maybe rosemary just isn't as picky as we think, as long as it gets decent sunlight and isn't sitting in soggy soil...?
Totally agree about rosemary being tougher than we give it credit for. Mine's jammed between thyme and some random volunteer tomato plants that popped up (no idea where those came from...). I never bothered with gravel, but I did mix in a handful of sand leftover from a patio project for drainage. Seems like as long as rosemary isn't drowning, it's happy enough to overlook our gardening laziness.
Haha, volunteer tomatoes are the best surprise guests, aren't they? Makes you wonder what else is lurking beneath the soil waiting to pop up next season. And yeah, rosemary is definitely one of those plants that thrives on neglect—mine's been through accidental trampling, paint splatters from a fence project, and even a dropped hammer (oops). Still going strong somehow. Curious though, did the sand actually help much with drainage? I've got leftover sand bags from a patio job too, and now you've got me thinking I should toss some into my herb bed. Or maybe rosemary just appreciates our half-hearted attempts at gardening...
"Curious though, did the sand actually help much with drainage?"
Honestly, I tossed some leftover sand into my herb bed last year—mostly because I didn't want to haul it back to the garage—and it did seem to help a bit. Nothing dramatic, but the herbs looked happier after heavy rains. Could've been coincidence, though... Rosemary probably just appreciates our lazy gardening style. Mine survived being run over by a wheelbarrow, so clearly it's not picky.
I've always wondered about sand for drainage too. From what I've read, sand can help a bit, but it really depends on your soil type. If you've got heavy clay, sand might actually make things worse by creating a sort of concrete-like mix. I learned that the hard way when I tried to "fix" my flower beds a few years back... ended up with something resembling pottery. But hey, if your rosemary survived a wheelbarrow incident, maybe drainage isn't its biggest concern anyway.
