Roses

Taken and posted for sheer glory and delight in their beauty.

A Rosy Day

Yesterday was a rose-filled day.

I started by stripping all the fully-open roses from the bushes to make beads.

But, before I ground them up, I had to stop and admire the way the Fourth of July roses are all different. Hundreds of flowers on one bush, all streaked, speckled, and spotted in unique ways.

After admiring them--and dragging in family members to also admire them--I took a picture.

Then, I got busy and ground them up, simmered them for a few hours, and drained them while I shaped beads from the previous batch & put them out to dry.

I also used the rose-water from the bead-making to scent some soap.

While the rest of the rose-water was used to make a rose-apple crumble (yummy!).

Incidentally, gathering large batches of roses at once confuses the bees, or so I judge from their behavior around the fourth of July bush. All day long, they had been coming to the bushes, gathering nectar, and going home to dance their dances, assuring others of flowers and food. All of the sudden, there was nothing there, save the bees, flying around where the flowers ought to be, bumbling into the buds hopefully, and then flying off with disgruntled looks on their little faces.

There are also plenty of roses left around the house, floating in bowls or standing in vases.

Not all of the bushes are even blooming yet--some of the bare-root roses have only just started to discover that they are bushes at all.

I may eventually run out of things to do with roses--beyond admiring them, that is.

Antique Roses

These are antique roses. What I cannot remember is what kind of antique roses. They might be apothecary's roses--or they might not. Whatever the name, the smell is sweet.