who painted the roses red ?

every time i walk into a rose garden,

 i can't help but start singing "painting the roses red..."

my kids and i must have watched alice in wonderland over several dozens of times.

and this is one song that has really stuck.

this week, i'm taking you back to government house in victoria, bc

to visit two beautiful rose gardens.

the first, is the victorian rose garden

created by robert marnock.

as you enter the garden gates 
you will come to a display of boxwood-edged beds 
filled with the most fragrant pink and white roses.

there is a beautiful metal arbor with a bird bath in its' centre.

the roses in this garden are spectacular both in scent and in colour.

there were no names on the varieties... 
but they truly were magnificent.

my favourites are the clustered roses that look like corsages !!!

after filling our lungs with the sweetest rose perfumes, 

we exited the garden through another beautiful iron gate.

the second garden is the sunken rose garden, 

which lies on the western side of the property.

the focal point of the garden is a tiered fountain,

 around which displays a wide variety of scented roses.

 there are enough varieties here, in fact, 

to disprove the famous old saying, 

" a rose is a rose is a rose".

look, the rose hip bushes were just as abundant...

just reminded me of all the rose hip tea i consumed while i was pregnant.

you'll have to look closely at this variety...

 it is the most beautiful lavender pink.

aaaah roses... 

i have really come to appreciate their fragrance, beauty,

and most of all that they bloom from june until october.

so if you are in victoria, british columbia... you will have to visit 

these gorgeous gated gardens of roses at government house,

the home to bc's lieutenant governor,

all free for public viewing.

erica

xoxo