wild roses

The beaches of the northeast are often rocky and gray. But these marvelous rugosa roses grow wild in abundance. And they are so fragrant! Imagine the scent of roses mingled with the smells of the sea, blowing in the breeze, while waves crash against the rocks.

In my previous post some of you expressed a preference for simple,
low-petal count roses. The bigger
ones weren't blooming on my recent trip to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden,
but these sweet ones were, climbing trellises and welcoming bees.

 I have a couple of those in my garden too. They haven't bloomed yet, but here's a picture from another summer. My peonies are still tight buds. I noticed they were sticky, and discovered the most interesting thing in an old botany text--that it is related to the color of the flower. Inside the plant cells are vacuoles filled with cell sap: water, sugar, and salt. The pigment dissolves in the sap. So I imagine the sap acting as a stain, though I'm not sure that's accurate. But what is accurate is that nature is mind-blowing. I try to pause frequently and allow myself to fill with the wonders of nature--flowers, thunderstorms, bird song. It helps me get through the hard parts.