guardians

Another shot from the beautiful cemetery
behind the basilica of San Miniato al Monte, 
way up above Florence.

[Linking back to Ruby Tuesday
and Our World Tuesday.]

November rose

I can't name this rose, but I can tell you
that it smelled delicious—and
it was blooming on the 6th of November (!).

[Linking back to Shadow Shot Sunday.]

fall flower

"More exquisite than any other is the autumn rose."

—Theodore Agrippa D'Aubigné,
Les Tragiques: "Feux" (1616)

[Linking back to Ruby Tuesday, Our World Tuesday,
and Wordless Wednesday on Tuesday.]

The Weekend in Black and White

 "There is nothing more difficult for a truly 

creative painter than to paint a rose, 

because before he can do so he has first 
   to forget all the roses that were ever painted."                                                            

—Henri Matisse


[To see more monochromes, visit Dragonstar's meme.] 

The first rose

When I took this shot on Mother's Day, the 
roses were not yet blooming at the Brooklyn Botanic—
except for these primula x rosa  (also called 
primroses, from the latin for "first rose"), one of 1,200
different kinds in the Cranford Rose Garden (one of
the largest collections of rose cultivars in North America).

[Linking back to Monday Mellow Yellows,
Mandarin Orange Monday, and Macro Monday.] 

Today's Flowers

The temp was in the frigid range, but if you
passed by this flower shop in Paris you
could still stop and smell the pretty little
bouquets of roses (and I love how they even
made the fallen petals part of the display).

[To see more of Today's Flowers, go here.]

French flowers

Despite the frigid temps in Paris last week,
florists all had flowers on display outside.
I snapped these gorgeous roses at a
shop on rue Beaubourg.

[To see more Monday Mellow Yellows, visit Gemma's meme.
For Mandarin Orange Monday posts, visit LoriK's meme.
And for more Macro Mondays, go here.]

ABC Wednesday—R is for "rose"

I just loved this bright pink rose blooming
in November (and trying to give the
turning leaves a bit of competition maybe?).

[To see more ABC posts, go here.]

Second Act

The roses are giving us an end-of-summer encore.
This unusual variety is called 'Stars 'n' Stripes'.

[To see more Ruby Tuesday posts, go here.]

Mellow Yellow/Macro Monday

The masterpiece should appear as the flower to the
painter—perfect in its bud as in its bloom—with no
reason to explain its presence—no mission to fulfill . . .
— James McNeill Whistler

[To see more Mellow Yellow, go here.
To see more macros, visit Lisa's Chaos.]

Mellow Yellow/Macro Monday

"Why is it no one ever sent me yet
One limousine, do you suppose?
Ah no, it's always just my luck to get
One perfect rose.
                                  —Dorothy Parker

[To see more Mellow Yellow, go here.
To see more macros, visit Lisa's Chaos.]

A rose is a rose

And they're finally starting to bloom in the garden.
I could spend hours there—oh wait, I did— and this 
was one of my faves of the many pictures I took.
[Today is Shadow Shot Sunday. To see more shadows, go here.]