The Roses of December
Be careful what you wish for. You may end up with the below – a misty-shrouded, desolate landscape (my backyard). A morning so quiet that your footsteps sound like thuds because no other sounds buffer your footfall hitting the ground.
Desolate landscape in the morning fog
In my earlier post, Top 10 Things to Love About December, I wished for rain. In fact, I just plain ol’ wished for cooler weather (we’d been having a heat wave in the ’80’s and ’90’s, even up through Thanksgiving). This morning I got my wish. This morning it was 39 degrees and shrouded in a dense fog.
Opening the window shades in my home office is a morning ritual that I love. I love looking out my window and discovering the changes that each morning brings. My window faces a road, but more importantly, I look out over part of my rose garden and a mountain beyond. This particular morning I looked at fog – a dense mist that hovered over our valley cloaking our few acres in a way that made it seem that there was nothing beyond the mist – just us, just our land.
And, a silence permeated our valley; I’m sure the fog curtailed traffic as commuters stay home later waiting for the fog to clear. So, I felt compelled to go outside with my iPhone in hand and take these pictures.
Roses in the mist
Unbelievably, our roses are still blooming. Imagine that – roses in December. They aren’t perfect (I don’t tend them; in my “toot sweet” life, I don’t have time) – some a bit scraggly, some a bit overgrown. But somehow nature takes over and glorious flowers in various shades of pink, orange, yellow, red and even a pale green fill my front yard – even in December. I like to think that even though I’m a lackadaisical gardener, the “universe” understands my love of flowers and nature and provides me with a wonderful show, even though I give nothing back. So, here are my roses shrouded in mist and covered with dew drops – extraordinary!
Sunset Roses
Roses with dew
Sunset and Yellow Roses with a close-up of leaf covered in dew.
So, there you have it. Even cold, desolate mornings bring unparalleled beauty – you just have to look for it.
Tootles,
Related Posts:
(other posts about my garden)
Hi, so jealous of your December roses. How is it that deer do not devour your garden? Even with pitiful fencing, they manage to get in and eat whatever they choose. When we returned from Europe, my gardens looked much like your desolate landscape and have looked so since. Oh well, I try to look for the beauty in the woods like you suggest and look forward to spring.
Well, for whatever reason, we don’t get deer. Although they are definitely around because of our proximity to the Wild Animal Park! We get lots and lots of rabbits and they are pretty good about destroying flowers. And gophers! Don’t even get me started on gophers (a future post next year!!!). So, we have our challenges. Temperatures reached below freezing the other day, so I expect frost damage to start appearing on our plants that aren’t frost hardy! I just keep trying as you do!