Ranunculus asiaticus 9 April 2023

Today is a gray and rainy Easter Sunday. The garden is looking pretty good. As I look at it alone I grieve that I cannot share my enthusiasm for it with my Rosemary. Since 1986 (once we eliminated our idea of this part of the garden is mine and that one is yours) we had our garden.

When we moved from that spectacular corner garden in Kerrisdale, to our little Kits deck and lane garden Rosemary was not happy. For Rosemary it was a diminished garden even though the selling of our Kerrisdale home made us not only financially independent but we inherited our daughters while we were still alive.

One plant that we moved from Kerrisdale to Kits, Camellia x williamsii ‘Donation’ was a favourite of Rosemary’s. In our first year in Kits it did not bloom and it seemed like it was going to die.

Camellia x williamsii 'Donation' & Hosta 'Sunny Halcyon' 9 April 2023

It did not and when it bloomed Rosemary beamed at me.

Now when I see Donation in flower I can only imagine what she would say to me.

Easter for me is the colour yellow. This colour is a happy colour that at first in Kerrisdale Rosemary banished from our garden with oranges and reds. It was the first bloom of Rosa ‘Mrs. Oakley Fisher’ that finally made her change her mind about amarillo and the rose became her favourite rose.

Rosa 'Mrs. Oakley Fisher'

In one of the scans here I have two ranunculus. When I purchased them at Garden Works the label did not properly identify them. I believe they may be Ranunculus asiaticus.

I scanned these two ranunculus in conjunction with a couple of leaves from my Hosta ‘Sunny Halcyon’ because I want to bring together in this blog the idea of the sombre and sad Viernes Santo (Good Friday) with the bloody look of the red ranunculus, and the white one for me represents an Easter Sunday resurrection. The yellow hosta leaf, of course is the colour of Easter, yellow.

Now if I could only share these ideas and scans with Rosemary. I cannot. Somehow what should be a happy and sunny Easter is definitely a sombre and solemn one.

Sunshine on a Sombre & Solemn Easter Saturday