Roses Are Red…and pink and yellow!
This morning I walked through the garden and said farewell to my lovely rose (and calla lily) friends. Those seven-foot high rose bushes have provided me and my neighbors with much amusement and joy. I know that having these friends is only a fleeting thing…three weeks ago, the fifty or so bushes were a riot of color and perfume. Now, only a few blooms remain and the neighborhood and I are in mourning.
Each day the Arizona heat and wind have diminished the color and dried up the beauty…I know the end is near. Within weeks the desert temperature will soar to 110 degrees and the bushes will shrivel, defying that hot, never-ending beating sun, and my lilies will literally be cremated. So…all that I will have left are pictures to remind me that my friends will return, will be resurrected in the fall when the temperatures will return to “normal” and the sun retreats to the south giving us all relief from the heat!…it cannot come fast enough.
Roses are not only an inspiration for me in the garden but an inspiration for many in the world of interior design. They are seen printed on fabric and wallpaper in various genres from traditional to modern. They are borders on rugs, painted on furniture and grace beautiful botanical drawings.
Bennison Fabrics has a wonderful pattern that recalls vintage living with a “tea stained” looking ground and Lee Jofa provides some wonderful fabrics that make my heart sing! The one pictured 
inspired a client’s bedroom.
In Arizona, sometimes the only relief when the garden is bare of my floral friends, is to stroll through the Design Center and once again see my favorite roses…and lillies.
