all flowers are prettiest when they are a day away from being tossed out. the fleeting nature is part of what makes them so wonderful. i’m no poet though, and plenty have already written on the subject, so i’ll just share the pictures.

remember these guys? well, here they are. as i mentioned, they were a little beat up to begin with. i had two of each, and unfortunately the lovelier of the two white roses opened up to reveal a deep bruise instead of the blush center i was hoping for. the one pictured above is still all ruffly goodness though.

mr. pink, however, was a pleasant surprise. he was so tightly wound that at first i was afraid he’d hardly open at all, just shed outside petals one at a time until the little scamp flashed his stamens at me. it only took a little prodding to loosen the petals for this photo, and now he looks more like a peony than a rose to me. just don’t mind the little touch of brown there on one of his petals.

yes, they still smell amazing.

yes, all flowers are male.

next time i’ll share some tulips that are almost done. they’re even prettier than blown roses.