R.I.P Mary. You were a rose.

A little rain and sunshine are always a good thing—in moderation.

Over the last several weeks, I noticed some browning on my rosemary. My beautiful 3-year-old plant had grown into an overgrown shrub. I would casually trim it back to keep it healthy and maintain its width. Here in Texas, we’ve been getting a lot of rain followed by extreme heat 🥵, which has taken a toll on some of my other plants—but never my rosemary.

Now that we’ve reached what seems like a “false fall,” I’ve been thinking about replanting it, but it’s still a little too hot. Unfortunately, the brutal sun took its toll and murdered my beautiful Mary.

What did I do wrong?

Well, for starters, I planted it in a tire. Yes, you read that correctly—a tire. In my attempt to be the crafty DIY goddess I wanted to be, I thought a flower bed made out of old tires would be cute. Spoiler: it was not. At first, it seemed like a fun idea, but there were problems.

Problem #1: Fire Ants

If you’ve ever dealt with fire ants, then you know. They’ll find any nook or cranny to make a nest. I didn’t bother filling my tires all the way with soil and packing it down, so when the first rain came, the ants came marching in. They built a giant nest in the inner groove of the tire and refused to leave unless doused with soapy water.

(Fortunately, Mary survived that part.)But the soapy water was so high inside the tire that it shifted the soil and, for a while, exposed the lower stems to the elements.

Hint: Rosemary plants stay much healthier if the lower parts of the main stems are lightly covered with soil.

Problem #2: Black Rubber + Heat = Fried Plant 🌱

This one should have been obvious. When the heat index hits 105°F on a Texas summer day, the temperature inside a black tire can easily reach 115°F or higher. So of course Mary got scorched—badly.

Once the main stems (the thick woody branches) were burned, it became almost impossible for the plant to recover. Like anyone who realizes their plant may not make it, I harvested what I could and let nature take its course. After she died, I dug her up and saved the branches to burn in the fire pit as mosquito repellent.

Now I’m just waiting for cooler weather so I can plant new rosemary in a better spot—far away from the tire garden.

It’s all about learning lessons, right?

—Jay, The Not-So-Master Gardener