Yesterday before lunch I saw that the sun was shining (briefly is the key), and decided to go cut some of my roses. The wind, rain, and hail have really been whipping them around just as they were all starting to blossom. I had to save a few and bring them inside. In this bouquet there are probably five different roses even though they all look the same. If textiles are a passion, roses come up as a second or a winning tie. I seem to never get enough of them when they are in bloom.
I have been reading, again, the British author, Beverley Nichols. I love his books. I always laugh out loud when I am reading them, the only books that seem to generate a sort of spontaneous giggle. So as B. Nichols would say, I rescued the languishing pink ladies from their drunken despair and brought them in to dry out. Of course Nichols would have elaborated with more flourish and irreverence, but I think he would have maybe giggled a little at my effort to embellish.
I think I might be beginning to blossom a little too. This package arrived in the mail yesterday. I am still engulfed with the meaning, the effort, and the beauty.
I once owned everything flora that Beveley Nicholas published. May I also suggest his autobiography? It is quite an eye opener.
He chose to be an amusing and lighnearted writer in many magazines as well. However he had a very fine brain and his serious stuff whilst now outdated, is note-worthy.
It may be that a lack of personal finance helped him to make the choise of a more lightweight career than he was cabable of.
How nice to know someone who finds Nichols as addictive as I do. I have many of us books that I have collected over the years. They are all worth a second reading too. Currently I am nearly finished with Green Grows the City, written during the Second World War about his triangle-shaped garden. His humor is some of the best I have read in any book. Recently Kari Cates of the blog Writing Up a Storm read his autobiography and was quite stunned. I will have to get that at the library and read it asap. Thank you for sharing this information on B. Nichols. There are so many British authors to love.
I love roses! especially the antique varieties that still have a scent left. As a child I would visit my grandmother and she would immediately whisk us away to her rose garden to see and smell the latest blooms. I was smiling when I read of your descriptive “rescue”….lovely! : )
Oh I am so hoping that my own grandchildren will someday have memories as you have shared here. All the roses that I have are old garden roses. I only buy the ones that are high on the fragrance chart. Many are David Austins, but all are own-root from “Heirloom Garden Roses” in Oregon down near Salem. I used to order them from a catalog when I lived in Mendocino, but now I go to the nursery, and it is like a dream walking around looking at and smelling all those incredible roses.
Smiling… My roses seemed to survive the wind storm well but oh boy did the bearded iris get flattened. Not an author I’m familiar with…off to see if there is anything at the library.
Those poor iris. We need at least one steady day of sunshine to dry things out. I think you would love Beverley Nichols books. See if you can get one of his trilogy: Merry Hall, Laughter on the Stairs, or Sunlight on the Lawn. They are all choice and I good way to be introduced to him.
Your choice of roses is wonderful. Those look like English Tea Roses? The multi petal I find so very attractive and I’ll bet they have a luscious fragrance.
I do need to get with my garden but I can’t seem to tear myself away from my studio. Soon, soon……..
I will request a book by Beverley Nichols. So few authors make me laugh out loud.
Well, this is always the dilemma, isn’t it, the garden or the studio. The rain has kept me inside all week long so I have not been torn between the two, but once the days are nice I, too, will be pulled in both directions. Read some of the other comments, and you will get lots of information on Beverley Nichols. I think I will post pictures of his books on my blog in the next day or two so everyone can be enticed.
the gift you show here looks so soft and comforting, just lovely.
Well it absolutely was, just how it looks in the photo. When something comes together with beauty, care, and thought it becomes easily recognized as a treasure.
Yes, I do love Beverley Nichols!! I think the key to his magic is that as he describes the foibles of his eccentric characters, his deep and abiding love for them is always there. I only got half-way through his autobiography Father Figure, which is beautifully and powerfully written. It is very different from his other books, as it is a child’s view of living with a dangerously ill alcoholic father. It is very hard reading. But the other books are pure joy. How he would have loved your roses! And your cats!! I love how cats are like roses, for both are so soft and plush, and yet one comes with sharp little claws and the other comes with sharp little thorns. Your gift looks only soft and plush! xo Kari
I still intend to get Beverley Nichols’ autobiography from the library and read it. Unlike his other books that are so full of humor and anecdotes, I know this one will be difficult to read. However, I do want to read about his life just to understand the basis of his writing and how he evolved. Cats and roses are similar in beauty, love, and yes a few sharp edges!
I forgot to thank you for telling me about this wonderful writer in the first place! I have loved not only reading but also studying his style. xo Kari