Rosa 'James Mason' - All Potential & More
Monday, May 22, 2017
po·ten·tial
pəˈten(t)SHəl/
adjective
adjective: potential
- 1.
having or showing the capacity to become or develop into something in the future.
noun
noun: potential; plural noun: potentials
- 1.latent qualities or abilities that may be developed and lead to future success or usefulness.
- 2.Physicsthe quantity determining the energy of mass in a gravitational field or of charge in an electric field.
Origin
late Middle English: from late Latin potentialis, from potentia ‘power,’ from potent- ‘being able’ (see potent1). The noun dates from the early 19th century.
Much has been written on how a little acorn can become a
huge oak. In my 60s class of physics in university I learned about potential
energy and how any object has the possibility of moving. If it doesn’t it is
because there is no exterior force pushing or pulling it. And Isaac Newton told
us that objects in movement tend to keep moving (unless there is friction) and
that objects not moving do so because of inertia.
Looking at this beautiful bud of a modern Gallica Rose, Rosa ‘James Mason’I I felt guilty in
cutting it off for the scan here. The bush will have at least 70 or more roses
beginning around the June 10. So what is one bud that will never open? To me
there is sorrow in that I have suddenly terminated the potential of that bud.
Am I selfish in trying to show those reading here how beautiful it is even
before it opens?
Gallica roses bloom once. The botanical term is that Rosa ‘James Mason’ is not remontant. It
has a longish splash of colour and then the blooms disappear until the next
year. Once-blooming roses force us to be patient and to want to survive another
year so we can enjoy their splendour.
I have one member in my family who is full of potential.
At this moment that potential is being squandered and inertia is setting in. A
person is one, but a rose shrub has many buds. Is a comparison here and accurate one? Is
the tragedy of potential not being realized that much more tragic? Time will
tell. The garden faithfully comes back every year. Human potential perhaps is
like a well-tended garden.
Rosa 'James Mason' is my Rosemary's favourite rose.
Rosa 'James Mason' is my Rosemary's favourite rose.
