Tag: rose

June 28th – One of the plants that’s commonly considered a nuisance and confined to edge lands and waste ground is rose bay willowherb, or old man’s beard.I’ve always felt the scorn for this violet midsummer trooper was unfair, as it’s another beautiful weed.

Fast growing with well-recognised wind-borne seeds, this tall plant is seen in hedgerows and other land that goes untended. It has a beautiful smell and adds a lovely purple tinge to otherwise dull spaces.

I’ll get you all looking at your weeds in a new light if it kills me…

May 15th – A wet, horrible morning commute with the wind against me. The only brightnesses I found in the gathering dark were these dog roses and some ox-eye daisies. 

No matter how bad the weather, summer flowers are a guaranteed pick-you-up that will leave you smiling. And is it me, or do wild roses always look best with a covering of raindrops?

May 12th – The rest of the day was marked with damp natural beauty and curiosity; the wild-growing roses were out in St. Matthews churchyard in Walsall, and they fit this decaying corner of God’s Acre beautifully, while not far away, also decaying, the oddity that is Highgate Windmill was standing sentry over the quiet, respectful urbanity as it has done for centuries.

I noted all along the journey that marble oak galls are surprisingly prolific this season, and last year must have been very good for the parent wasps who create them. They hang like red fruits in the oak trees.

Sad to see the Swan and Mitre in Aston still empty: A remarkable terracotta late Victorian pub, hideously beautiful in mock gothic in that way only Victorian boozers can be, this spectacular building holds many memories for me. Many a time I leant on that railing one a summer evening with a pint in my hand watching the comings and goings to late-shift local factories.

Reflecting, I have little physically to show for the few short years I spent haunting this place, but I do have a lifelong friendship and some truly wonderful memories.

The past is best thought of in terms of what was found, not that which was lost.

March 21st – Gosh, it was cold this morning. After the warmth of the last week or so, riding out in the early morning in a wind air air temperature just above freezing was a real shock. Just as well, then, that the day was gorgeous with bright sun and blue skies.

The change in temperature hasn’t bothered the trees at all – they’re bursting into life. fresh new green leaves appearing, more every day.

I feel the gladness in my heart that only spring can bring – whatever the temperature!

January 6th – A damp morning errand took me across the Black Country to Great Bridge, and in the small border of a household garden near the town centre, these gorgeous flowers, spotted with rain.

It’s quite hard to find natural, optimistic colour at this time of year, but I’m so glad I did. I’ve been missing the simple joy of flowers for too long.

A real tonic.

August 4th – Bitterweet to see the rosehips now ripening well along the lanes and towpaths of the Black Country. They are beautiful in their shiny, vivid orange jackets, their sight brightens many a ride in late summer and autumn. But they also indicate the passage of time and season, and their appearance always makes me a little sad for a summer passing.

There’s plenty of time, though for summer to improve, and while there are still blooms alongside the hips, all is not lost yet.

August 2nd – Another summer soldier that looks superb in rain is the dog rose. Still flowering well and looking gorgeous, like the willow herb they line the paths, tracks, verges and edgelands of town and country, and I think few people really notice them.

Which is sad, because as these in Darlaston  show – growing outside a disused factory – they really are beautiful.

So many unsung heroes amongst the wayside flowers.

June 9th – Such a profusion of flowers at the moment, for which pink and purple seem to be the current fashion. Roses, orchids and one I’m not sure of all brightened my commute.

The orchids are particularly welcome growing along the towpath near Clayhanger, and on the slope to the new pond. I just adore them.

May 31st – The season of the dog rose is upon us. You can keep your fancy hybrids, your blobs of colour on thorny sticks; give me the colour and scent of a wild rose any day of the week – bringing colour in an uncontrolled riot to towpaths, hedgerows and edge lands all over.

These were just by the canal in Walsall near Bentley Bridge. A joy to the heart.