"Summer Gardens"...A Round Robin Promotion

"It's good to be in alone in a garden at dawn or dark so that all its shy presences may haunt you and possess you in a reverie of suspended thought."

-James Douglas, "Down Shoe Lane"

When I heard from rRose, author of the journal, " WAIT-NOTYET-/" what her choice was for our next Round Robin challenge was, I immediately thought of one of the most beautiful examples of a summer garden I have ever seen, the Mission Rose Garden, that sits right across the street from Mission Santa Barbara, in Santa Barbara, California. There are over 500 varieties of roses, blooming during the summer, with the gorgeous backdrop of the Santa Ynez mountains. Originally the garden area was a working area where natives of the Chumash and Yanonali learned trade.

Today, the same area is filled with the beautiful fragrance, of every rose you can imagine. Especially gorgeous were the "fire and ice" variety. So lovely, and the houses in the area are historic as well, they are Spanish-Colonial, not neo-colonial, which adds to the beauty and history of the area. I last visited the garden in June of 2005, on my birthday, and it was pretty special. I loved just sitting on the bench, in the shade, and taking in all the gentle beauty around me. It was a treat to be able to photograph so many different colors and in so many different lighting opportunities. Maybe I will get the chance to visit there again later this year...we'll see. :)

So do you have a favorite summer garden? Is it a public historic garden, or is it the one in your own yard? Grab your camera, take some photos, write an entry and play along with our challenge. You have almost two weeks to come up with an entry. The date of our next challenge will be, Wednesday, August 9th, as usual you can post your entry any time between the midnights of that day! You can post one photo, or a series of photos featuring the current subject. You are limited only by your own imagination. :) Click here to visit the official Round Robin blog, where you will find all the information you need to play along with the challenge. If you find you have any questions, feel free to send me an email and I will respond ASAP. :) Please say you will join us, we so love your company!

-OndineMonet
Mission Rose Garden
Mission Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, California
June 29th, 2005
Afternoon