Hosta 'Dream Queen' 27 June 2026

Jaded comes from the noun "jade," which originally referred to a worn-out, broken-down horse which was usually a mare. By the late 1500s, this evolved into a verb meaning "to tire out or fatigue," and by the 1630s, the adjective "jaded" was used to describe someone dulled by overexposure or continual indulgence.

Hosta 'Dream Queen' & Rosa 'Susan Williams-Ellis' 27 June 2026

Since 2001 I have scanned thousands of plants and roses from my garden. And yet each scan becomes a view of wonder every time. I can sort of predict what the scan will look like but that’s not enough to justify my excitement when I see the result.

Because my Rosemary was into the details of the garden she taught me to observe what photographers now do with their macro lenses. I don’t need such a device as my vision is still sharp.

For many years I was a member of the American Hosta Society. Its members praised the beauty of the variegated leave and poopooed what they said were  uninspiring flowers. I begged to differ. I see in the tall scapes (hosta term for the stem of the flowers) why hostas and agaves are part of the very large asparagus family. But I see a beauty in the flowers before they open and after. Sometimes the flowers are all white and sometimes they are lilac almost purple.

This last scan of Hosta ‘Dream Queen’ caught my eye because of its brilliant white and its proximity to Rosa ‘Susan Williams-Ellis’. I scanned the hosta flower with and without the rose.

Not being jaded has something to do with being an artist. I now almost admit being one. I cannot stop doing it. That first scan of Rosa ‘Reine Victoria’ in 2001 reminds me that Jorge Luís Borges says that all first times are infinitely repeated. And yes, these scans have that wonder and excitement of that long lost rose that died. Its memory persists.