Blossoms Of Autumn

Do These Petals Remind You Of Waves On A Beach?

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

This is probably the last serious flush of roses in the garden at Casa Authorblog. After a mild start to our spring and summer, they were heat-blasted through January and February, when the scorching conditions and lack of rain took a severe toll.

But now that we’re in the second half of autumn, the roses have made their last stand. I shot these images last weekend, late in the afternoon on one of those days when the slanting sun can produce light that sometimes encroaches on the very subtlety that you are trying to capture with a camera.


Yes, there were fresh blooms unfurling on this beautiful Chicago Peace rose bush. Yes, there were high, proud buds. Yes, there was a profusion of spent blooms that were less than 24 hours away from withering. But I decided that I would use the light to emphasise the intricate pastel shades spanned by a single bloom that was well past its use-by date.

I particularly like the first and last shots in this sequence, because they capture the delicate waves and subtle nuances of colour. At its best, this rose is brilliant in vivid orange and pink tones, with a distinct buttery quality to some of the blooms.


Not only does it have a wonderful perfume, the size of the blooms is also so striking that two stems are often enough to dominate a huge crystal vase. I thought the playing card would be a great visual aid to show you just how large the blooms are.

Yes, I deliberately chose the King of Spades card because I was the person who actually dug up the turf to put in what was then a tiny bare-rooted plant with a few minor sprouts.


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