Rosemary
Salvia rosmarinus
Rosemary is an evergreen culinary shrub that adds fragrance, edible foliage, and a strong structural line to sunny dry plantings.
Few herbs do more visual work year-round than rosemary. The fine needlelike foliage and woody branching hold shape through winter, while pale blue flowers arrive when the garden is still quiet and pollinator traffic is just beginning to build.
Its main demand is drainage. In many gardens the problem is not summer drought but winter wetness, so the most successful plants are usually those kept in bright open positions with fast-draining soil and modest irrigation.
Microclimate
Rosemary thrives in reflected heat, bright masonry-adjacent beds, and exposed corners that are too dry for softer shrubs.
Neighborhood observations
In neighborhood gardens it often becomes a durable anchor near entries, sidewalks, and kitchen garden edges where fragrance can be brushed on the way by.