Sophy's Rose

For months now I have passed by hundred's of rose bushes in Verny Park on the way to the Yokosuka JR train station. Every Monday, as I raced by trying to make the train, I would glance at the rose beds, one week they would be pruned back – hard. The next week, more mulch topped off around the roots. Always, no matter what the weather, someone was out there working on the rose beds. It could be a solitary gardener or a whole group of them - all with their wide brimmed hats on and long sleeve shirts.

Last week on my way back from Kamakura I noticed that some of the roses had finally started to bloom. The patient efforts of the gardeners had started to pay off ... but I was kicking myself, I had not brought my camera with me that day. This week I came prepared, I had my camera, made sure the battery was charged and I'd even done a minor bit of reading in one of my new photography books on macrophotography.

This is my favorite shot from today - the roses are all labeled in Japanese and in English and this beauty is called "Sophy's Rose." I thought it was lovely. Only once have I attempted to grow roses, in our first home in Norfolk. Roses intimidate me, they seem to require a lot of attention and to this point in my gardening I have been more about low-maintenance plants, but here I will take notes, will watch and learn from the patient Japanese gardeners – because the results of all their care and attention are beautiful and ... inspiring.