A THOUSAND WORDS - Alex Waterhouse-Hayward's blog on pictures, plants, politics and whatever else is on his mind.




 

Monday, May 01, 2006


Hilary, my daughter, and Rebecca's mother called last night to tell me that she didn't think that Rebecca should keep at home the roses I bought for her at the VanDusen Plan Sale yesterday. "We would not know how to take care of them." But I insisted that Rosa 'Mrs. Oakley Fisher' (left), 'Tuscany Superb', 'Ballerina' and the miniature 'Green Ice' would probably take care of themselves just fine with a miniumum of help. Rebecca should learn not only the responsibility of having a pet (she has an orange cat called Raúl) but she should deal with botanical extinction as most adults gardeners do. Plants die, but more often than not, they thrive in spite of human care. Rebecca has successfully grown the English Rose, Rosa 'Mary Magdalene' for two years so these will not challenge her. The miniature rose 'Green Ice'so called because as the white flowers age, they turn a lime green, seems to be her favourite of the moment. It could be because it was already in bloom. Rebecca immediately re-named it Genevieve. At the the plant sale, rosarian Christine Allen told me, "We kept this very odd rose for you since you like odd things. It is hardly listed anywhere and it has a very strange mottling. It's called Rosa 'Soleil Brilliant'. She was right. It is not listed in any books and I was only able to find it on the net when I typed in Gallica rose, 'Soleil Brilliant'. Rebecca will be the first to know exactly how odd that mottling is going to be.



     

Previous Posts
Roses & Apricot Jam

Rebecca at Nitobe

Fleetwoods, Guy & The Marble Arch

In Praise Of A Gastropod's Good Taste

Jane Jacobs & Viveca Lindfors

Russell's Father

Flushing Roses

The Crouching John MacLachlan Gray

Lauren, Rebecca And An Exquisite Routine

Nick Muni, Faust & Juan Manuel Sánchez



Archives
January 2006

February 2006

March 2006

April 2006

May 2006

June 2006

July 2006

August 2006

September 2006

October 2006

November 2006

December 2006

January 2007

February 2007

March 2007

April 2007

May 2007

June 2007

July 2007

August 2007

September 2007

October 2007

November 2007

December 2007

January 2008

February 2008

March 2008

April 2008

May 2008

June 2008

July 2008

August 2008

September 2008

October 2008

November 2008

December 2008

January 2009

February 2009

March 2009

April 2009

May 2009

June 2009

July 2009

August 2009

September 2009

October 2009

November 2009

December 2009

January 2010

February 2010

March 2010