2017—Old Sunset Rose

The Old Sunset Rose cutting that my brother John gave me a few years ago continues to thrive despite the previously mentioned benign neglect of my roses.  This rose is an unknown variety planted in the late 1800’s when the Sunset Line & Twine Building in Petaluma was the new Belding Corticelli Silk Mill.  When Sunset closed and the building sold, John rescued cuttings of the old roses that grew wild around the building.  The cutting he gave me was neglected in a small pot until my friend Honora espied it and when she heard the history of the rose, insisted on repotting it.  It is now a large rambler and it has rambled and threaded its way among the branches of Winsome, the Ron Smith Memorial Rose that my friends Royetta and Cherry gave me shortly after Ron died ten years ago.  I really must stop neglecting my roses.  They reward me with such beauty.  I wonder how much more beautiful they might look if I gave them just the slightest bit of care.   Because this rose blooms only once in the spring and it is now covered with buds.  I’m afraid that the rose will be in full bloom while I’m away photographing birds and I’ll miss the gorgeous display.    So to commemorate this year’s bloom, I took a some  photos of the single blossom amidst a cluster of closed buds.  The first was taken in early evening light; the second the next day in late morning light.