From Bud to Bloom .. AT MY ROSE GARDEN

One of the most spectacular secrets of the rose garden is the unfurling of bud to bloom. Each heirloom rose has it's own unique type of bud.  Some are fat and squat, others are long and pointed.  Some buds appear too small to hold the many petals that eventually unfold.   

Here we can see a short, plump bud of the Tea rose, Mrs B R Cant.  The green sepals are opening to allow the bud to begin to unfurl.  You can see the pale colour of the bud where the sepals have protected it from the harsh sunlight while it was still forming.

This is the same bud of Mrs B R Cant, but it is elongating, and the pink petals are beginning to unpin themselves from the bud.  Note how the outer petals are fully flushed pink after exposure to the sunlight.

The bud is opening up, with the petals separating from their tightly packed package.  

Now we see the fully opened bloom of Mrs B R Cant in all her glory; many petals unfolded to form a very full blossom.  

The bud of the early Tea rose, Safrano, is elongated and flushed a dark apricot pink. The sepals here are opening out from the bud, giving the appearance of a bud bowing in prayer!

Now that the sepals have fully released the bud, the petals have elongated and are beginning to unfurl.  These buds were prized by late Victorian and Edwardian gentlemen as buttonhole buds.  Very dapper!

Now that Safrano has opened out, her pale apricot blossoms quickly fade.  Safrano is so prolific in flower, that other buds quickly take the place of the spent blooms.   

Finally, we see the squat, almost messy little buds of the Hybrid Musk, Cornelia.  The apricot/pink buds quickly open to show off numerous soft pink blooms.  And the fragrance is exquisite!

So each day here AT MY ROSE GARDEN brings a new surprise to enjoy!!