Have you been to the Birmingham Botanical Gardens lately? Oh, you really must go soon. It is so beautiful right now. I know that it is always beautiful, but now...oh my. The Roses are all in bloom and the rose garden is such a sensual, sweet experience. There is just something about roses, isn't there...the way they shamelessly bloom so beautifully and then, just as quickly die and stay on the branch, daring you to look. The saturated colors and soft texture. The way the petals may fall off as soon as you touch it, or the fact that the heads look so inviting, while the stems are thorny and rough.
She is a temptress, the rose. i can't get enough.
I go through phases with her. Sometimes, I find her too prissy, too easy to love and quick to hurt. A little too seductive. Other times, I walk through the gardens and literally stop to smell every type, occasionally rubbing my cheek against her soft petals and breathing in. I stare in wonder at all the different kinds, each different but all possessing that rare, yet ordinary beauty that is a Rose.
Really, please go to the gardens. You won't regret it. The roses are not the only thing blooming. The herb garden smells like the best, freshest restaurant, and the Lily garden is just stunning. I am convinced that there is healing power in just breathing the air in the tropical greenhouse.
It is open sunup to sundown and I find myself wandering through there after work, right before dusk. It feels like the park is all mine to enjoy...as though it has been bestowed upon me.
I am willing to share.
