Seems so fitting these days to have these two paired liked sensible comrades. Bread, as literally a staff of life (though in more of a ‘civilized’ sense, which I could take or leave that part, I like to be a little uncivilized…) and roses, thorny but beautiful – medicinal and soothing (Helen Todd and Rose Schneiderman would be proud).
When we first moved into this charming little house (circa 1850) on a spit of land, there were two sort of imposing/sort of sad little Douglas fir evergreens in no sort of sense in front of the house along the road. They had been topped, so any character they had was gone and they were together but off center – really looking silly. So we removed them and considered a fence along the road frontage. But fences are finicky and expensive and with our free roaming chickens (seen this year in their tractor house), we needed something less penetrable than the open cedar farm fencing we preferred. So we started putting in all the wild rose that we dug up from other portions of the property. It grows crazy here.
There were some other bushes and tall roses that lived here and there, so we moved those to the front line, too. Now I have a glorious rose/raspberry/random bush fence across the front that the bees and birds love. I love it, too. I get lots of tiny rosehips to use for bath and body care, I get privacy from the busy road, and it put to good use all this crazy rose everywhere! I feel a bit like Sleeping Beauty or Maleficent (which is funny because we almost considered Aurora for our daughter’s name but then with our last name, that seemed ridiculous! Perhaps she can be the former, and I’ll be the latter).
But the aesthetic of both bread and roses seems fitting for us – sustenance and beauty. Wishing you both, as well.
Rock Bottom Homestead 