A Rose Respite

I felt the need (is that a “felt need”?) to go to Gage Park again today.  I wrote about this park awhile back, and went again today because of the so-perfect weather.
My first stroll was through the rose garden.  There are more kinds of roses than anyone could count, I imagine, including many award winners as well as other hybrids, climbers, old standards, etc.
I don’t know much about roses, but I was drawn to the old-style gangly-type roses growing along the outside perimeter of the park.  The rose flowers themselves were generally smaller than the others, but their fragrance was more bold.  And to my surprise, the fragrances were not at all the same.  Some were sweet and mellow while others were more pungent.  Some smelled like a kind of perfume, but others had a smell that defied description.  All were pleasant, in their way.
It brought back memories of the white and pink bushes growing in the front of our house when I was a kid.  Those things would almost take over the area were it not for Dad’s occasional “pruning”, which consisted more of chopping the things back until they were barely recognizable.  They always grew back, however, and some are still there today.
One bush in the park had a sign that said it was introduced prior to the year 1700.  Many had introduction years in the 1800’s and early 1900’s.  Some are relatively new, but don’t really look any better, to this untrained eye, than the old ones.
This is a place worth seeing, especially this time of the year.  The buds are just opening up, and on a cool morning with a slight breeze, the experience is anything but routine.