My Grandmother on my Daddy's side of the family grew roses. All colors and types grew in the garden that surrounded her small white frame house. I can still picture her puttering around in her garden wearing a large sun-bonnet and long gloves to protect her complexion from the hot Oklahoma sun.
Most of Grandmother's roses were of the single-petal variety in many colors -- very old-fashioned roses. I can remember one rose bush that grew on the south side of her house -- with it's large clusters of bright red blooms and the sweet rose-scent. Now, whenever I smell a rose-scented candle or cologne -- I remember those her garden and those rose bushes.
Of course, my Grandmother's roses weren't the only roses in my life. Both of my parents loved roses -- all kinds of roses: tea-roses, climbing roses, old-fashioned roses.
One old fashioned rose that was a favorite at our house, was a pale pink rose with a distinct sweet scent. That rose bush was rescued from my Daddy's 'Little Grandma's' house and transplanted in our backyard where it flourished. When 'Little Grandma's roses were in bloom, my Daddy loved to have large bouquets of them in the house - perfuming the air and providing a beautiful feast for your eyes.
Now, even though my Daddy has been gone for over 18 years, my Mom still grows roses in her garden. And, my parents love of roses has been passed down to their children and in the future, hopefully, to their grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
The roses in these photographs are all from my Brother and Sister-in-Law's garden. I don't know the names for all of their amazing roses -- but, I do know that when I visited their garden a few weeks ago and walked through all the blooming rose bushes with my Sister-in-Law, Barb -- I had a serious case of 'rose-envy' !
The first picture is a 'Mr. Lincoln rose' and the photograph just doesn't do justice to the color -- it's a much richer, darker shade of red and the blooms are huge - saucer-size. I wish I had room in my garden for this rose -- it's a show-stopper.
The second picture is a rose called, 'Eleganta' -- a David Austin rose and I love the ruffled look of this rose -- it reminds me of peony blossom. And, the scent -- it has to be experienced to be believed -- from even from 10 feet away, the delicate aroma is in the air. I do have a rose in this same family that was a birthday gift last year from my brother and his wife. Can't wait for mine to bloom this season.
I don't recall the names of the two remaining roses -- my only excuse is that I was so blown away by the many, many roses in my brothers garden that my mind was on 'overload'.
Picture three: With delicate petals, looking as though it's made of porcelain, this tiny pale pink rose may be smaller than most roses; but, it's still as beautiful as it's larger, showier sisters. I know I'm drawn to pink roses more than any color and this rose is no exception.
Picture four: This apricot rose, if I remember correctly -- had an almost peppery scent. I do so admire the ruffled edges of the petals of this rose. It makes me think of those huge fabric flower pins everyone was wearing a few years ago -- very 'Carrie, Sex in the City' look.
I could go on and on about roses from my Mom and Oldest Sister's garden or my Brother's garden or even my own modest garden -- but I'll save that for another day.
With my family's fascination with roses -- I'm sure there always will be plenty to talk about.
We can't help it --
it's in our blood --
we love roses.
