Rosa 'Westerland' 14 November 2025

Since I began in the summer of 2001 I have amassed over 4000 (if not more) of my plant scans from my garden. Every time I do one I find myself amazed at its beauty and I have to quote in my mind what Borges said. For him, a first time kept being a first time.

Today was a cold grey and rainy day in which my only smile came from a 45 minute visit by Larry Campbell. Once he was gone I was back in my doldrums. Sometimes a melancholic moment produces a thought of “what if I?” After I scanned this-ever-so-lovely Rosa ‘Westerland’ which up until late summer is a brilliant orange, I printed a small version and included it with the scan (a second scan).

The whole operation reminds me of telling my grandmother that I was bored and she would suggest, "Alex, chúpate el codo." (Alex, suck your elbow). Because I was a little boy that kept me busy.

And so this operation has kept me occupied.