La Belle et la Bete

I'm going to try a segue here, that will ultimately make sense (we can hope anyway), by going from the film Beauty and the Beast to roses. Stick with me, and we'll see if it works.

One of my all-time favorite old black & white films---no, wait, my most favorite---is the French film La Belle et la Bete, by Jean Cocteau, made in 1946. I have loved this movie for years, and just recently watched it again on one of the movie channels, falling captivated and mesmerized all over again. The imagery of special effects, the wonderful story, perfect acting, and the cinematic genius of Cocteau, makes this an absolutely stunning film. If you aren't lucky enough to find a TV channel showing foreign films, you can actually order a very brilliant DVD of the original at Amazon.

Here comes the segue---

So, from La Belle...
In the rose garden, which is a large section in the front of the house, Alan and I have about 56 rose bushes. I love the gorgeous blooms, and the scent on a warm Summer's day is nearly overwhelming. The colors, fragrance, and range of variety is pretty spectacular. During the blooming period (for us it's June clear through to November), we are constantly getting compliments, from neighbors as well as total strangers, on the beauty of the rose garden.

Here is a small sample of the roses. A very small sample considering this is just a few of our dozens of plants.






I took the photo on the right just this morning. I love how the dew drops sparkled, adding to the beauty






to et la Bete...
The endless fiddling, pruning and deadheading of these horrible roses, to say nothing of the constant threat of bugs (greenfly, blackfly, whitefly, and any other frigging thing that flies), and diseases (black spot, rust, wilt, mold and mildew), makes these prima donnas the most aggravating of plants in the entire plant kingdom...!! I have been slashed, cut, and left bleeding copiously by the wretched thorns, to say nothing of the sepsis involved when a barb breaks off somewhere in your hand, finger or leg. Why anyone would have these horrid plants is just beyond me. Which begs the question: why do we have so many..??

Because they are beautiful...even when they're beastly...