Rosa 'Abraham Darby' & right Rosa 'Margaret Merrill' 14 November 2023

Today is November 14 and when I walked into the garden I was surprised to see a couple of roses. One was open the other will probably not open if the cold weather continues.

When I scan my roses (I call them scanographs) I am involved in carefully removing dust spots that are there even if I think my scanner bed is spotless. This detailed work is about the only activity I do on any given day that in the precise moment of doing it I don’t think of my departed Rosemary.

But then when I am finished she is there immediately. With her around I would have shown her the scan and she would have smiled.

But not all I can record here that while our mutually favourite rose was the single Tea Rose, R. ‘Mrs.Oakley Fisher’ she adored R. ‘Margaret Merrill’ and I have always had a preference for ‘the English Rose R. ‘Abraham Darby’ which we purchased in the late 80s and has healthily survived until now.

If anything these roses represent my persistent memory of my departed Rosemary.

I am including in this blog the coincidental arrival of two holiday catalogues that Rosemary and I always enjoyed perusing as we often found gifts for our daughters and granddaughters. With the advent of my granddaughters no longer being children I will probably give cash to them and my daughters. While Rosemary would have agreed, she would have understood the passing of better and rosier times with our family.