Friday 19 February 2010

Everything's Coming Up Roses

Gertrude.

That's my Dad's nickname for me.

He gave me the name because, like the 19th/20th century garden designer Gertrude Jekyll, I've been known to while away the odd hour pottering around the garden. Funnily enough, her speciality was experimenting with colour schemes in her planting, an idea which suits me down to the ground [pardon the pun]. But I think that his decision to give me the name had little to do with that and rather more to do with thinking that calling me Gertrude sounded funny. Which it does. And that's OK.

Several years ago now, Dad discovered that there was an old English rose named 'Gertrude Jekyll' :

Image: David Austin Roses

Ever since then I've been planted in the garden of the house I grew up in, tucked in alongside the greenhouse. Pretty much where I spent my time helping Dad pot up seedlings and re-arrange plant pots in size order [OK, I admit that this last activity was just something I liked to do! Still do actually.]

Apparently Gertrude is a very hardy, reliable, short climber.

And so is the rose.

So, here's the next batch of prints added to my '365' pattern collecting Flickr project - appropriately themed:

Everything's coming up roses ...

[If you'd like to see any of the above images greater detail you can click here.]

Finally, I got to add something a little roseate to a scrapbook page last week too:

[The full page will be in the reader's gallery of the next issue of Scrapbook Trends [UK] Magazine.]

Overall this week, when I take into consideration the combination of:

  • acquiring a pair of rose-printed tights [such joy!];
  • booking myself into a workshop taught by Dina Wakley [too exciting] and;
  • receiving lots of positive feedback on my new regular 'quotes' and 'overheard' posts [much appreciated xx]

... life really is quite rosy right now.

[What? A pun too far? Too cheesy? Yeah, OK, OK. Just accept my apologies and we can both move on].

Oh, and just in case the title of this post has planted a tune in your head ... here's your chance to have a nice, loud and uplifting sing-a-long-a-Ethel-Merman.

J x

9 comments:

  1. Hah - I already had Ethel Mermen in my head before I even got to the end of the post!

    That layout looks fab, even from just a sneaky peek. I like your stealth announcement about being in Scrapbook Trends!

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  2. Ah, I love that your dad calls you Gertrude, that's a very dad-like thing to do. It's a v pretty rose too.
    I used to call my dad 'pops' or 'popsicle' and for some peculiarly logical, if not sensible, reason he retaliated with 'dops' and 'dopsicle'!
    Dads are the best ;)

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  3. Oooh, I want some of those tights - they look amazing! I too am living the quotes/overheards x

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  4. Scrapbook Trends is my fav scrapping magazine, I cannot wait to see your gorgeous layout in it.

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  5. Ooh, an excuse to buy Scrapbook Trends! Still v. jealous re the Dina thing x

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  6. I'm reminded of the snippet about Eleanor Roosevelt, how she was pleased to have a rose named after her till she read the description- No good in a bed but great againt a wall. :D

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  7. Gertrude, Gertrude - I had *no* idea you knew about gardening. I feel a brain-picking coming on. :)

    It's also an incredibly pretty rose, only slightly out-beautifying the tights.

    I also feel the need to have a word with my own dad about a more glamorous nickname. 'Scamp' hardly screams sophistication, does it?

    x

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  8. Love your quote: 'Brainy is beautiful'. Right on, sister! x alexa

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  9. Congrats on getting into Scrapbook Trends - your LO will rock it, I'm sure! Loving the tights too :o)

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