Monday, July 14, 2014

wild roses

 Purple flowering raspberry shrubs grow wild all around our house in the Catskills. Rubus odorous is a member of the rose family. I love the way they look in all their stages of growth. Their berries taste like a slightly tart raspberry. Of course I rarely see the berries--most of them get eaten by birds and other wildlife.


 They remind me of a scrubbier version of the lovely rugosa rose that grows wild around the beaches of New England. I took this picture in Maine. Their warm pinkness and sweet smell contrasts beautifully with the rocky beaches and chilly north Atlantic waters.

15 comments:

  1. We have wild pink roses here, too, though a bit lighter in color. I'm not familiar with the purple flowering wild raspberry. I looked it up and looks like it's native to the east and not this side of the Mississippi. Beautiful, though. We have the thimbleberry, rubus parviflorus, but it's flowers are white. The fruit is similar to a raspberry, though tangier and seedier and, on looking it up, it is more in the west, but also the midwest.

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    1. Wild beach roses always make me crazy with happiness. I had heard of thimbleberry (in old books where else) but didn't know what it was, until I was reading about the wild raspberries. The fruit sounds the same as odorous.

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  2. Beautiful and I like how you note the contrast of the roses of "Down East" to their rocky coastal home. I can almost smell the sea mingled with the scent of rose. Thanks for the memories -
    Mary

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  3. I've never seen either of these lovely plants! How delightful! I love the purple flowered raspberries! Gorgeous!

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  4. The first photo looks like a clematis, I find that roses look like other flowers at different stages sometimes. Either way, always beautiful.

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    1. Hope your garden is doing well now that we are getting into the dog days. (Hi Max!)

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    2. It's pouring here, so yes...at least for now :)

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  5. I love wildflowers that burst open like that....untamed and beautiful.

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  6. Hello Jen, I am enjoying wild rose time here in Ohio. We have the purple-flowering raspberries also, but as beautiful as they are, when it comes to raspberries I am more practical and prefer the wild red ones, and my special favorites, the wild black raspberries, both of which set fruit more abundantly.
    --Jim

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    1. They all sound wonderful, and evoke classic summer memories.Love the line "wild rose time in Ohio".

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