Sitting writing in my hammock I look up to see a pigeon watching me from among the roses on the pergola. It would be a safe place to nest as the thorny sprays keep the cats away, if only the daft bird could build a decent nest. Unfortunately for some years the nest was so flimsy that the eggs and squabs simply fell through it onto the bricks below, which was distressing. This year, however there looks to be enough rose debris to keep the whole thing together. So, I nod at the pigeon and cross my fingers.
I planted this rose “Ethel”, in 2005 which makes it a bit over twenty years old. It is a fragrant rambler and clearly likes the garden as it has grown to an impressive 20 foot and flowers prolifically every year. Unlike other roses which are bred to flower repeatedly within one season, rambling roses have one show of blooms. For a few weeks during June and July, the wooden pergola frame is laden with a mass of pink clusters. The double blooms start off almost white, then a whole array of pink hues begins to develop, delicate like apple blossom, strengthening to a strong, almost virulent pink, which fades over time to a lilac.
Sometimes I make up bunches of roses to give to friends, or I sell them for charity. This year, however, I put them out on the pavement with a sign saying “Free” and just gave them away. I don’t feel they belong to me really: I just look after them.
When I left on holiday my rose was at its best with sprays of tight, pale and pink- tinged buds and some open blooms; but when I came back from Turkey a week later, the rose was already blown and drifts of pale petals litter the over-long grass.
One minute I was standing on a hot hillside among the dry creeping, scrubby plants, listening to the chorus of the cicadas and admiring the tall, airy pine trees against a blue, blue sky: then I am home again, sweeping up rose petals and talking to the pigeon. What next, I wonder?
Notes:
A “squab” is a baby pigeon.
“Ethel” comes from an old English name, Etheldreda which harks back to an old Saxon name: Aethelthryth meaning noble and strength.