We took a quiet morning stroll toward Regent's Park and knew we were getting close when we could smell the roses before we had even entered the gate. What a sight to see a collection of hundreds of English roses all in full bloom. No weeds allowed. Even the topiary was tending to the flowers. And a coot with lobed toes came after me when I tried to photograph her cootlings.
Interesting that I just ran across this quote from Arthur Conan Doyle about roses. Since he was nearby at Baker St. writing Sherlock Holmes, I wonder if this line was inspired by these very Regent's Park roses?
"What a lovely thing a rose is!... Our highest assurance of Providence seems to me to rest in the flowers. All other things, our powers, our desires, our food are all really necessary for our existence in the first instance. But this rose is an extra. Its smell and color are an embellishment of life, not a condition of it. It is only goodness which gives extras, and so I say again that we have much to hope from the flowers."
― Arthur Conan Doyle, The Naval Treaty
― Arthur Conan Doyle, The Naval Treaty
Sent from Ann's iPhone
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