A Rose Garden Visit

 

Tiffany Rose - USA 1954

One afternoon last week I took myself on a spur-of-the-moment jaunt to Butchart Gardens to see the roses. They are later than normal due to our cool spring and early summer, but nearing peak bloom. About 250 varieties of roses fill the garden beds, with over 2500 individual plants. 

The Poet's Wife - England 2014

I wandered back and forth along the paths, stopping to admire and photograph, and to bend down and take a dedicated whiff of fragrance. Ahh, the delight! 

Rose varieties from the late 1800s through the 20th century grace the garden, with a grand selection of colours, shapes, and fragrances. Roses do not all smell alike, and some, like the hybrid teas, have almost no scent. How sad, for what is a rose without a delightful fragrance? 

Savoy Hotel - England 1989

I confess that it's the pink roses that appeal most to my camera. Pinks of all shades - from dark fuschia and wine to delicate pale blush pink. I love reading the names of roses and often wonder who chose the name and why. 

In my own garden I like to research the names of the roses and the history behind the name. For example, Boscobel is named for the house in England near where Charles II hid in an oak tree during the English Civil War (1642-1651). 

Parade Day - USA 2018

The Rose Garden is the only place where plants are labelled. A photo guide provides clues to other plants situated throughout the other garden areas. I take a photo of the label after taking one of the rose so I can refer to it later. 

Some names I find quite unromantic and unsuitable for a rose, in my own opinion, of course. There is one, a pretty pink rose, called Sexy Rexy that seems utterly incongruent to me. Do names of things matter to you? I confess that when I choose a paint colour for the house I fold the paint chips back so I cannot see the names of the colours for fear of being swayed in one direction or the other by the words. 

A small arbor and a now-locked gate once led from the rose garden to the Butchart family home. I find the tangle of vines and roses against the ironwork immensely appealing. 

Here is a view from above the Rose Garden to the house beyond, now a restaurant where they serve a delicious afternoon tea and other meals. The wing to the left of the main building once housed a bowling alley for children, and is now offices. The white roses along the main allee are just beginning to fill out.

Other gardens are filled with flowers, too. In the little wood cabin above the Sunken Garden, a clematis trails down from the roof. 

Colourful stocks fill the middle area of this bed, with bright zinnias beginning to bloom behind. The plantings are so masterful and I learn something every time I visit. 

I'll leave you with a view of the sweet peas that line one of the walkways along the rose garden with tall obelisks of sweetly-scented, multi-hued blooms. 

In my own garden the roses are lovely with blooms, although today they are hanging heavily after yesterday's steady rain. The sweet peas are growing madly, but no blooms there yet. After a few sunny days we're back to clouds and rain, and chilly temperatures.