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| Rosa 'La Belle Sultane' 27 May 2023 |
Ancillary to the concept that if a tree falls in the garden and nobody is around to hear it, did it really happen? I wonder if Leonardo ever got feedback on his Gioconda? Did he paint it in artistic isolation?
The pleasure in tending to a garden is the sharing of it. From 1986 Rosemary and I shared our garden with each other, with our visiting granddaughters (before they became teenagers), and the busloads of Americans that came from the US to see our corner Kerrisdale garden.
We always opened our garden for a weekend of visits from the members of the Vancouver Rose Society. For days before, we removed unsightly yellow or black spot leaves. The lawn was perfect. There was not a weed to be seen anywhere.
When we moved to our Kitsilano home we kept the tradition of opening our garden to the VRS in mid-June.
Right now almost at the end of May my garden is a riot of open rose shrubs (I hate to use the word bush) and Rosemary would be worried as to what roses would be in bloom in June for the open garden. I am not in the least worried. The odd roses that will be open will be side by side by my splendid hostas and the perennials that Rosemary instructed me to buy every year.
But there is one feeling of grief as I preen the garden. I cannot share its beauty with my Rosemary. The three neighbouring duplexes have never shown interest in the garden. In fact one offensive couple have complained that my Rosa ‘Complicata’( very large and overlooking the back lane) makes is difficult (really?) for them to put stuff in their garbage bins. One of them said to me, “It is not our fault that you want to have a garden.”
My cats love to be in the garden but the only feedback I get from Niño and Niña is their comfort in being in it and enjoying the sun under one of the metal benches.
Only Rosemary would understand the concept of Cruel to Be Kind. This was a lovely song composed by Brit rocker Nick Lowe. I tell people who may be interested that the song is in my head when I prune roses. If they are to bloom and have healthy canes one has to be brutal.
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| Nick Lowe at the Commodore Ballroom |
One of my favourite rose scans from the summer 2001 was that of Rosa ‘Jacqueline du Pré’. She did not bloom last year because she was surrounded by an overly aggressive Gallica Rose, Rosa ‘La Belle Sultane’. Today (27 May but I am placing the blog on the 26th as I try to fill my blog holes) I decided to be cruel to be kind by removing with my secateurs many branches with buds that were about to open. Why? I wanted light to reach Jacqueline du Pré.
I hope that she does bloom in June. I know full well that Rosemary would have agreed to my cruelty.
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| Rosa 'Jacqueline du Pré' 6 June 2022 |
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| Rosa 'La Belle Sultane' & Hosta 'Neptune' 24 May 2023 |
