It was a beautiful, sunny day on Galvin Street, in El Cerrito, CA, this past Saturday. People gathered to accept gifts of roses from the garden of Miriam Wilkins, beloved Bay Area rosarian, who passed away in November.

I was there in the morning, when people from nurseries and rose organizations had first pick of all the treasure. For quite awhile, I stood on the back porch talking to Joanie and Kristina, and watching people huff and puff up the hill with their bounty. Jay, Miriam's garden helper, and rose expert extraordinaire, proudly wore his Miriam t-shirt. Teresa had meticulously prepared a list of the known roses.

Many of the roses were conveniently labeled.

As I finally made my way through Miriam's over grown rose jungle, I came across these two carefully planning their strategy. Only so much is possible within time and manpower constraints.

The labels fascinated me and my camera. Each of these tell a story to those who know the lingo.

Clothing labels were pretty fun, as well, "Hold still please, I'd like to shoot your label."

Colored plastic tape marks roses in the holding area.

The garden wasn't without a few silent witnesses.

Thank you Miriam, for so much.