When my grandmother commented to the Filipino artist who had a large painting of a Mexican huarache he said to us, “Ah, the beauty of ugliness,” I will never forget that. In my fall garden I believe that with the roses past their blooming season and the rest of the garden showing a fall decline I can see the beauty that is still there.

These leaves are from my Morden, Manitoba Rosa ‘Emily Carr ‘introduced in 2007. I see in them a resemblance to Emily Carr’s post-impressionist paintings of the 30s.

What is a great Vancouver pity is that this rose, a lovely red rose that is hardy across Canada is not to be found in the lower mainland. I found mine 5 years ago at the Shop in the Garden at the UBC Botanical Garden. When I called the leading rose nursery (I will not give its name) to see if they had one that I could buy for my eldest daughter Alexandra’s Lillooet garden, the man asked me, “Can you spell that name please?”

You would think that our Vancouver Art Gallery could in some way promote this rose.