Even when much in life seems lost, dirt has never let me down. I have a passionate relationship with the ground near my house and the plants which grow in it – I praise and coddle them and put up with thorns and splinters and gashes that leave blood all over my chonkers because I adore the fruits of our love/hate relationship, and I love sharing them with everyone walking by.
Most of the time, I choose plants and flowers for their smell and taste – lavender, freesia, tuberose, buddleia, honeysuckle, strawberries, tomatoes, apples, cherries, mints and thyme – but right now, the roses are the ones getting all the attention. Thanks to a lot of rain this year, plus a lot of talking (I believe wholeheartedly that talking to my roses is what gives them their shiny coat and intoxicating scent, even if it is only that extra hit of carbon dioxide as I exhale in their direction) and gardening with my bare hands (my roses are extremely fond of blood sacrifices – cue the theme from Little Shop of Horrors,) my roses are even more stunning than usual. I have more than a dozen out front, and quite a few more in the backyard, and here are a couple of my favorites:
Honey Bouquet:
Probably the prettiest bloom of all
Peace:
Mother to hundreds of varieties, this one sets the bar high
And, the one with the most amazing fragrance, Gertrude Jekyll:
As I head off to deadhead and weed away a few more hours today, I’ll offer this blessing to you -
May your garden overflow with the bounty of the season
and
your hands heal quickly.
Your garden is wonderful and your roses are gorgeous. I love time spent in the garden, even when I overdo it and my back aches for a couple of days after, it’s worth it. It centers me.
Enjoy the dirt, you love it and it gives back.
can’t grow roses very well here. the dirt is just sand but whee you are is so perfect for them. and TLC is just the magic elixir to make them thrive. yours are beautiful!
I took a shot in London that looks almost identical to the picture you labeled “Peace”. I did a double take!