I may have 40, mostly old roses in my garden. In our
Kerrisdale garden we had 85. Some died. Some were taken by enthusiastic
gardeners. Some of the hardy Gallicas went to my daughter Ale who lives in
dessert cold and dessert heat Lillooet.
But since 2002 I have scanned all the roses we ever had or
have and many of Rosemary’s perennials. These high resolution scans are safely backed
up.
How do I feel about these long gone roses? I believe I feel the same sense of loss as I
do of my dead friends and relatives. Of my friend and relatives I retain
memories that are reinforced by photographs.
In the parlance of this digital century, photographers
capture their images with their cameras. Have I in some way captured a tad of
the uniqueness and essence of my roses?
The rose here (not a scan but a photograph) came from a Langley friend with no confirmed
name to it. Because of its look I named it (for myself) Rosa ‘Blowsy’. I have
no idea if Blowsy is in our old garden. But I look at these images and I must
smile on a cloudy February 18 as we get ready for our trip to Italy.
Because I like to associate stuff I immediately did so with
Blowsy and my friend (have no idea where she is now) Salem.