The Product of Excessive Rain.....

.....Has been that my old fashioned roses have produced like I've not seen in years. Yes, gentle readers, this is again a flower post. Apologies, but I love these flowers, and if my soil was better, and the yard more protected from the elements, I would probably own as many as I could afford to buy!
Normally we do not get the quantities of rain at the time of year necessary to produce roses like the ones pictured, or they bloom out, we have one storm and they are gone. So your authoress is revelling in their splendor, perhaps a bit too much........
The top rose is one I call my "Railroad Rose" as it was dug from the edge of an old railroad, but it was apparent that at some point, the property had been that of a home as there were other flowers too. I usually lose this one to some sort of bud bomb, so having pics is wonderful. The scent is very sweet but different from the others.

This is a delightful moss rose, and though it doesn't show much, there are little fuzzies all over the buds and stems. Rub your fingers across them and a rich, heady, cool-spicy scent is given off. I always remember the fiber piece I did "Attar of Roses" which was inspired by this particular rose. The flowers are so richly scented that it is easy to stand and smell them and forget about yard work........and the photo still does not quite represent the vibrant hot pink/magenta color.

I have carried this rose with me on every move, as it belonged to my grandmother and possibly came from great-grandmother's house. It is a typical cabbage rose and is virtually thorn less. If you cut the flowers, it needs to be in bud stage as once they open, the following day they will shatter completely. Touch the canes even lightly and showers of pink rose petals go everywhere. Again, the scent is completely different than the other old-fashioneds; this being lighter but more what one would associate with a typical rose.

I am not sure where this beauty came from; it could have been a cane from a friend or it could be a mutation of the Railroad Rose, as this is the first year it has looked like this! Ah, the wonder of flowers and what they do on their own! That beautiful golden center is rich with scent that is both sweet and woodsy at the same time. Not at all like the green spiciness of the Moss Rose, but there is a connecting undertone.

As an aside, the china pattern my great-grandmother chose for setting up housekeeping was "Moss Rose" of which there are numerous variations, depending on who produced it. I still have some of the dishes of the fine thin, delicate china, and each time I look at a moss rosebud coming open, I think of her.

Hope you have enjoyed this little trek through my antique babies; there are catalogs available FULL of older roses that have been rescued from extinction and it warms me heart that in a day of hybridization to the point of no scent what so ever, people have taken the time---actually made it their MISSION---to retain these magnificent specimens, and there are many. It boggles the mind.

I hope they have brightened your day a bit and I sure wish you could send scent through the computer! You would be sure you had arrived at the gates of heaven!

Have a marvelous, bright, creative day!

P.S. For anyone trying to contact me, my usual e-mail address is again not working. Use the Yahoo address, and use it all weekend. The normal process of losing e-mail on Friday thru Monday is once again in action........good old Omnicity! I might as well change over to the other one as my primary, except I just got 200 business cards printed with the northcc addy.........grrrrrrrrrr......