Preserving the Moment

I wait all year for the roses. I want to admire all the varied colors, marvel at the intricate petal layers and soak in the lovely scent. I was so excited when we first saw the home we rented in 2017 had two types of beautiful roses growing around the house!

Roses from the backyard.

This year I'm going to add the sense of taste to that list and I hope it is another way to preserve all that fleeting beauty a little bit longer. Yes, I've watched those cooking shows where adding too much rose flavor to food can result in a soap-like disaster, :P but I recently watched a YouTube video on how to make rose jam and I am definitely going to give it a try. I have cleaned and trimmed rose petals waiting in my fridge as I type this. Here's the link if you are interested. How to Make Rose Jam
 

Time Over Beauty

 This spring I had the opportunity to sketch out some designs for a book cover. I wanted to convey the idea of beauty in all the stages of life. Having observed rose blossoms bud, bloom and fade, often with all three stages happening at once on one stem, I feel they are one of the most naturally perfect illustrations of this concept.
 

Roses from the front yard.

Even though individual rose blooms may not last long, a rose plant can live much longer. I  hadn't really considered how long until I read about the "Thousand Year Rose" growing on a Catholic cathedral in Germany. 

The Rose of Hildesheim

 A long stemmed tea rose plant might live an average of 35-50 years and some antique roses for over 100 years, which is respectable, but the rose that grows on the walls of the Hildesheim Cathedral in Germany is verified to have been growing there for at least 700 years! 

It's a rosa canina, one of the simpler five petaled roses, but a rose still the same. It's an interesting story encompassing a king and surviving a world war if you would like to read it for yourself. Rose of Hildesheim

Perhaps they are stretching the story a bit for the "Thousand Year" title, but it is still a charming thought that someone living centuries ago may have stopped and admired this same rose. 

Happy creating and remember to stop and smell or taste the roses!

>^-^<
Tina