Overblown roses

The roses in our backyard are almost finished (although we sometimes get some as late as September when things warm up again in San Francisco). There’s one particular rose bush that was here when we moved in and has the most extraordinary coloring. The buds start out a deep coral color, then turn dark orange, fade to peach and eventually end up pale pink with a yellow center. It’s quite amazing. They’re at my favorite stage right now – they’ve just turned pink and are getting paler by the day.

There’s something so Victorian about an overblown rose. I like that these ones are a little weathered and battered too. So much nicer than the shop-perfect sort. Makes me think of teatime table settings like this…

Last two photos by Joanna Henderson.