Getting Started with Rosemary 🌿

At Homestead Lavender Farm, we’ve always believed that good things grow when grit meets grace. Lavender may be our first love, but rosemary quickly became a close companion.

We knew early on that we wanted to grow Tuscan Blue rosemary. Its bold fragrance, high essential oil yield, and striking character made it the perfect partner to our lavender fields. The only hitch? Here in Zone 7a, Tennessee, Tuscan Blue isn’t cold-hardy enough to survive our winters.

That challenge is what led us to the USDA NRCS program. With their support, we installed a 30×100 ft long tunnel, giving our rosemary the year-round protection it needs to thrive. Instead of losing plants each winter, we now have a steady crop that can be harvested and distilled into pure rosemary oil — and blended into products that carry the spirit of both rosemary and lavender.

From watching the tunnel rise to planting those first rows, this step was more than just infrastructure — it was a turning point. Rosemary may have started as our “second crop,” but it’s already grown into a cornerstone of what we do here at the Homestead.

Curious how we built Rosemary’s new home? Take a peek behind the scenes in our next blog: Building the High Tunnel — from drip tape to weedmat to that first row of Tuscan Blue.