A yellow rose was blooming in my sister’s garden as we sat on her patio drinking tea and talking. I listened to my sister’s voice and looked at the rose, its velvet petals gently uncurling, releasing scent onto the air. The rose brought to mind another yellow rose, one that bloomed for years in my mother’s garden. She grew it from a slip she took from a wreath laid on my brother’s coffin and she called it the Rose of GD, in his honour. It had small flowers and not much scent, but it was a pretty rose. She kept it in a pot by her back door and tended it carefully, as a mother tends a child.
I know I am starting to sound like a broken record, but I really, really love what you are doing here. Every piece strikes an emotional chord with me. The crows had me laughing last week because I had been writing about them to a friend the day before. They used to steal our eggs and milk when Aussie Farmers were delivering. And this rose story is beautiful. I sometimes feel guilty about the small patch of roses in our front garden. Should we have planted them at all? I don’t take nearly as much care of them as I should. The strongest of them all is pink, prolific and beautifully scented. She’s definitely showy so I remember to deadhead her semi regularly. Some of the others are more retiring, so the rose hips flourish. After reading your piece, I’m not going to feel bad about that any more :)
Beautiful! Love love your writing.
I know I am starting to sound like a broken record, but I really, really love what you are doing here. Every piece strikes an emotional chord with me. The crows had me laughing last week because I had been writing about them to a friend the day before. They used to steal our eggs and milk when Aussie Farmers were delivering. And this rose story is beautiful. I sometimes feel guilty about the small patch of roses in our front garden. Should we have planted them at all? I don’t take nearly as much care of them as I should. The strongest of them all is pink, prolific and beautifully scented. She’s definitely showy so I remember to deadhead her semi regularly. Some of the others are more retiring, so the rose hips flourish. After reading your piece, I’m not going to feel bad about that any more :)