A Favourite Thing: Lots & Lots Of Love - Often! (Roses)

Member Name: Sexy Kay

Product:	Roses
Date:	18/07/02 (188 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Symbol of Love

Disadvantages: Greenfly

For Jill ...

My favourite thing? Well after much thinking, sleeping on it and thinking some more I 'think' it's got to be love. No, please don't groan, I'm trying to be serious.

"Yes, but what has this got to do with roses?", you may ask.

Not a lot I suppose, but there isn't anywhere else I can write about love so I'm going to use the rose symbolically, if that's okay. The rose will be my Symbol of Love. I'll make sure that there are free sick bags available at the end of the opinion for those of a less sensitive nature.

Have you ever meditated while looking at a rose?

"You wot?"

I meditate most days after my yoga ...

"Oh gawd!"

... and the rose is something very special. It has the essence of love within its petals. I know this'll make me sound real soppy but the last time I meditated with a rose I ended up with tears running down my cheeks. These weren't of sadness but because I saw the love and beauty within the flower - honest! The rose is far superior to us and, for an instant, I imagined that I very nearly glimpsed the meaning of life. The rose has flowered, whereas we are still developing.

The thorns are like the experiences we encounter. The trials and tribulations, if you like, that we have to overcome before we can understand the beauty and mystery of our existence. These difficulties, I believe, are all for a purpose. The rose already has the illusive secrets and one day we'll also discover what these are. I reckon a part of this will be learning to love.

By this I mean real love. The sort where we give and receive unconditionally. I suppose the purest example would be similar to that of a parent for a child. Where nothing is wanted in exchange for the love given. I know, for example, that no matter what I do, or what I say, or how long I stay away my dad will be there f
or me - regardless, 100% - whenever I need him. It's a lovely feeling and, because of the love and respect I also have for him, I would never take advantage or abuse this love - well, not nowadays I wouldn't.

Goodness knows, I've made some mistakes. But I now realise that I've been very fortunate, with the love shown to me by my parents, family, 'bestest' friend - whom I have known since I was nine or ten and my present boyfriend. Maybe one day everyone will be as fortunate. I feel that a lack of love is the major problem in the world today.

You know, if everyone joined up to the roses 'Symbol of Love' we would end wars, hunger, poverty, crime and vandalism. How could we hurt, or harm, or see anyone go without, if we loved them?

Of course love has to be nurtured, erm, like the rose ...

Roses - now they need a decent soil. A rich, leafy loam with a clay sub soil is best I'm told. We need a loving family, regardless of the number, or sex, of our parents. The rose family, Rosaceae, is the largest herbacious species with 3370 different sorts and yet they live in peace!

Roses thrive on sunshine, cleanliness, lots of fresh air, mulching and feeding.

Feeding with a fertilizer in mid April and then giving a good mulching of organic matter gets them off to a flying start, with maybe another dose of fertiliser in June and one more in July. There are many proprietary brands of fertilisers available, but a homemade one could consist of: two parts superphosphate of lime, one part potash and one part sulphate of ammonia. If you are lucky enough to be able to use farmyard manure for mulching (some people have all the luck), it should only be necessary to give one top dressing of fertiliser in June or early July.

So, what do we need? Praise, attention and loads of love. Well I do! It helps me to thrive and I know how much I've changed over the last two or
three years because I've received so much. For once I'm not talking about sex! All I'll say on that subject today is that I now realise that sex, with love, is much superior. It's just so wonderful to be loved.

Now life has it's problems, like greenfly (aphis), mildew, black spot, rust and Chafer Beetles - not very pleasant are they? But we can overcome a lot of things with love. There are many sprays and the like on the market that a loving gardener can use to control such pests and diseases. With black spot it seems that it's best to burn any infected leaves and then mulch the plants with grass cuttings or compost prior to spraying - which normally needs to be continued every couple of weeks. When us humans have problems isn't it nice when we have someone offering love and support?

I guess it would be better still if we offered love to those we don't know as well - a comforting word or compliment, a little time, even just a smile. I know this is all very Mary Poppins but we could have such a fantastic world if we wanted. I have a wiser than me friend, who says we should always leave a gift with everyone we meet or visit, - even if it is 'only' a loving thought.

I'd better say a little more about roses now. Fossils of roses have been found in Europe and America showing that their existence must date back millions of years. They are mentioned in the writings of Theophrastus and Pliny.

The name originates from the word 'rhod', meaning red. The island of Rhodes got its name because of the many roses that grew wild on its rocky shores.

The Greeks and Romans used great quantities of roses at their feasts and festivals. Nero loved them! Typically, knowing this, the early Christian church leaders disapproved of the flowers and wouldn't let them in their churches because of, what they considered to be, Pagan connections. Most odd! Especially as later r
oses became the emblem of the martyrs and the white rose became representative of the virginity of Mary.

Roses have been used symbolically for hundreds of years by all sorts of people. The Rosicrucians, for instance, use the rose on a cross. There was the Tudor Rose of Britain created after the Wars of the Roses when:

'Henry VII did the Roses unite,
His was the red, and his wife's the white'.

I've gone on long enough, but isn't it great to dwell on our favourite things?

All together now, "What a wonderful world ..."

Thanks for reminding us, Jill.

Lots of love to everyone,
Kay.

"Jill Murphy asked me to write about one of my favourite things to help her celebrate her fourth anniversary of cancer-free living and to remind ourselves of all the nice things in the world. It takes more muscles to make a frown than a smile you know. If you'd like to join in, whether you've only just joined dooyoo, or you've been here ages, you're more than welcome. Just write about one of YOUR favourite things, make your title "A Favourite Thing: [your choice]" and include this paragraph at the foot of your opinion. And post before Friday, 9th August."

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