For as long as I can recall I have loved roses. It matters not whether they’re wild or cultivated. Whatever their colour they simply delight me and I am not alone.
Roses where around 35million years ago, the oldest fossil remains being in Colorado. It seems the first cultivation of the rose may have been in China or Northern Persia but wherever it began their beauty inspired people to grow them. Over the centuries they have captivated people all around the globe.
Rose petals are used as confetti and the oils are extracted to make perfume. In an earlier post I wrote about Rose Tincture and how it helps to calm and soothe.
I feel that simply seeing a rose is somehow nourishing my spirit and finding out how long they have been around I can better understand their power.
The rose has been so much a part of human history and culture. Grief and passion, wars and music have all used the symbol of the rose.
The rose and summer are intertwined for me which is doubtless why they fill me with joy…summer is my time. I adore the sun and when/if it gets hot in the UK I am a very happy woman. No matter how hot it gets my body and soul relish ever moment….it is never too hot in my opinion!
In the summer my body aches less and I feel easy in my skin! I was, of course born in the North East which can be bitterly cold for the winter months and the summer is not always that warm but, of course we took ourselves off to live on The Equator! I am totally in love with heat and bright sunlit days.
A tricky business returning to these shores. However, the first sighting of a rose blossom in our garden reassures me that for a while, at least I can wander about barefoot and smell the flowers!!
We are such interesting creatures…I have a friend of Ukrainian descent and she laughingly says that grey, overcast days are happy days to her and heat is definitely not to be celebrated. Meanwhile, our daughter who spent the first two years of her life in the Lowveld of Zimbabwe pottering about in temperatures in the high 30s relishes hot, sunny days and I have yet to hear her say it is too hot!
All the roses above are growing happily in our garden…
Roses do not grow in hot conditions and I did not have them in any of our gardens in Kenya or Zimbabwe, although they were to be found at higher altitudes provided a regular watering system was in place.
And so, being in the UK may not be a guarantee of hot weather but I can delight in roses and their lovely perfume.
These roses and all that you see below where grown by a gardener employed by HRH Queen Elizabeth.
I can in no way lay claim to such beauties!
We saw them on our recent visit to Buckingham Palace.
Photography is not something I have ever really been interested in other than the rushed snapshots taken on holiday but doing this blog has gently eased me towards taking time to simply look at a scene and take a picture. It began early in the spring with the flowers blossoming and for the first time I actually stopped and really saw what was before me…what a delight, how amazing and all just there in our back garden.
A new camera and off I went…what a joy! Professional photographer, not a chance…happy, mature woman clicking gleefully…most certainly!
I now really look and see a little more clearly…both outwardly and within. How am I? What does that mean? Sometimes it highlights for me the need to breathe deeply, to rest more, to take a brisk walk or simply to stop and gaze!
Those of you who take time to read this please give yourselves a moment to stop and look..soften your gaze and checkout how do you really feel? Breathe in and out and smile.
Sending loveXXX.