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| Rosa 'In Your Eyes' 7 Viola x wittrochiana - 24 May 2025 |
In Your Eyes & Rosemary
Such is the surprise of roses appearing for the first time (since last year), that the concept of “the first time” becomes exciting. It is almost as if these many first times are all a first time.
This particular rose, Rosa ‘In Your Eyes’ emerges yellow but by the evening it is a white/magenta. What is also special for me is that this is one of the last roses that Rosemary and I purchased before she died.
The name might not be a spectacular one but for me it is appropriate. Because I have taken portraits for so many years I always look for that glimpse of the soul of my subjects through their eyes. I rarely take profiles or make my subjects smile or laugh. The closest I ever get is, “Think about smiling, but don’t." Smiles seem to shut off that glimpse of their inner spirit.
The blue pansy is a companion to ‘In Your Eyes’. I don’t like to have my potted roses with just dirt. I use all kinds of lovely annuals and non-aggressive clematis. One of my fave companion plants (and of Rosemary as the leaves are her preferred grey) is Lychnis coronaria.
The word pansy which was so used in that past 20th century to denote a feminine gentleman is now rarely used. In Spanish the viola is called pensamiento. I love the word as it translates to “a thought”.
