As a well spent day brings happy sleep, so a life well spent brings happy death.

~ Leonardo da Vinci

 

My friend, Mary, and I couldn't get enough of this rose. At the Sacramento Cemetery it is a found rose labeled 'Moser Pink Striped', but it is thought to be the Tea rose, 'Rainbow'. It was filled with perfect blooms.

It is indeed wonderful that so simple a figure as the triangle is so inexhaustible in properties. How many as yet unknown properties may there not be?

~August Crelle 1780-1856 German civil engineer & mathematician.

It is a rare morning when there is a light haze filtering the sun. Even though 'Lady Hillingdon' could have had a few more blooms for the perfect shrub shot, I thought I'd better shoot while the light was with me.

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In 2001, my friend, Susan Donley, and I were on a rose tour of England. We were staying at a Bed & Breakfast near Bath, when at breakfast, we met the granddaughter of one of the men who hybridized this rose. She told us that it was the shrub form 'Lady Hillingdon' that Lowe and Shawyer created, and she also mentioned that it didn't do very well in commerce.

She went on to tell us about an enterprising man, named Elisha Hicks, who spotted a sport of 'Lady Hillingdon' climbing, with long elegant canes. He entered her into commerce as 'Lady Hillingdon Climber', and much to the chagrin of our fellow guest's grandfather, the climber was a fabulous commercial success.

'Marilyn's Choice' abutilon weaves its way through the 'Lady' on our deer fence. The fence is covered with roses from top to bottom-- I'm not sure why, but deer never approach it for a meal.

While archiving rose photos that I've taken in public gardens, I usually end up at helpmefind.com for questions I need answered. I've been there many times since my return from the Sacramento Open Garden. Take the powerful froth of a rose pictured here– it's labeled at the cemetery as 'Vina Banks', but some people think it's 'Purezza'. So I looked up both names to see if their pictures would help the identification dilemma. They didn't I'm afraid, but I'll upload these pictures (yes you can upload too) to HMF to see if they might help any sleuths out there. This is also a plug to support helpmefind. As of today, I'm good for another year.

This rose was spectacular beyond measure, but afternoon heat and sheer laziness kept me from doing it justice in the photo department. I thought I could sit down with my macro and get the images I wanted.

My friend, Mary, took better pictures than me and with a point-and-shoot camera. I didn't realize I was in the picture too. Look past me though, and see what a magical sight this rose is, from a distance.

And there's another white climber in the background, which is such a brilliant landscaping idea for maximizing the enchantment.

The rose labels at the Sacramento Cemetery are the best. Often the bushes are so large, two or more labels make searching much easier. For photo-archivers, taking a picture of the label saves much note taking and confusion. Did I take the picture above? No, I completely forgot! This is Mary's picture. I don't have to worry though, the cemetery's wonderful volunteer rosarians are happy to help identify the roses.