It's a special privilege to harvest roses from one's own garden any day of the year. On May 16, for the Celebration of Old Roses, I knew it was going to be slim pickings though, since my roses were almost spent. Several shrubs only had one rose to offer, but in the end, the bouquet I made for display managed to include seventeen exquisite members of genus rosa.

I'm kind of sentimental about these bouquets, because the offering always has so much history whether it's from a gardener's point of view or from rose history itself.

I fell in love with Madame Hardy in an ancient church yard, on an overcast day in England.

I first saw The Swamp Rose, R. Palustris in Marilyn Wellan's Louisiana garden. I thought it was a spirea with thin elegant leaves, as it hadn't bloomed yet. This sweet thing is my latest favorite– just look at those elegant buds.

The wonderful Perle d'Or, a must for every rose garden, in my humble opinion. It took me a long time to figure out how to get this to grow. I found it's best not to deadhead it, since it gets fresh growth along the panicles.

This little honey is a seedling that appeared at the foot of Kathleen in my garden. I think it would be fun to call her Carolyn Parker! 

I'll tell you the names of the ten other roses in the bouquet, because they are all fabulous, and you might want to look them up on Help Me Find and even purchase them for your garden. Albertine, Shoener's Nutkana, Jeanne La Joie, Kathleen, Escapade, R. roxbrughii, Pink Gruss an Achen, Shailer's Provence, Common Moss and I'm sorry to say, there are three I don't have names for.

As you can see, I never tire of taking pictures of such bouquets.

And here is one last shot, after I finished putting it together in the cold windy morning–always a solitary and happy time.

Thanksgiving brought out the best from an armload of stems foraged in my friend Mary's garden.

I picked things that might look nice with market mums.

 Viburnam and pomegranate leaves, salvia, and Perle d'Or roses.

Now to back up a bit– I liked the bouquet pictures so much, I wanted to post them first.

When I returned from Mary's, I hastily put the stems in this copper bucket not thinking at all about pictures. Then I noticed the condensation on the window and all those golden birch leaves---  an Instagram shot had to happen.

When the sun was higher, out came the Iphone again. 

I was hoping I'd have time to do a blog post for today------I'm so happy (thankful) that I managed it! I dreamed of the long list of thanks I wish I would write. Time and thoughts will only alow the bare bones, but they are the best: love for nature, family and good friends, magical moments  (often w a camera), and the Creator of all. 

Yesterday (October 28, 2014), I had the pleasure of making two large, matching bouquets for a birthday event. The roses were just beginning to bloom in their last (fourth) cycle, and amazingly, a few hydrangeas had regrouped and were blooming fresh and blue. 

My 74" x 36" island counter is just the right length for working simultaneously on two bouquets. A good idea if you want them to match each other. I first added long stems of my favorite mint pelargonium (this will be gone after the first frost). Then came the hydrangeas making a nice poufy nest for long and lovely stems of mostly pink roses.

Hermosa, Pink Gruss an Aachen, Renae and Poulsen's Pearl are some of the roses included, two fabulous stems of Mrs. Oakley Fisher in bud, and long stems of Honor also made up the mix.

When the party was over, the roses were recycled for another designer, and I brought home the hydrangeas. Hmm– – – we'll see– – – there are many more rose stories out in the garden before winter comes.