In A Vase On Monday: Roses, Roses

In A Vase On Monday is hosted each week by Cathy at Rambling in the Garden.  Click here to see her arrangement this week and links to those of others.

The climbing rose on the right, brought as a cutting from my former garden, (it was inherited there) covers a large space to on the back fence, further right of this shot, that separates our back garden from the alley.  The rose is a once-a-year bloomer but for the month it blooms, it's so very prolific and extraordinarily fragrant that it gets to stay.  It's also fond of black spot but that doesn't seem to bother it much and I don't spray because I'm too lazy environmentally aware.   The fragrance reminds me of my mom's favorite perfume, "Roses, Roses"  from Avon.

It seems that some people don't like thorny branches smacking them in the face when they walk through the alley so a bit of pruning must be done every year.  Some branches are tied to the fence but some must be cut.  This chore is always left for bloom time so that some of the flowers can come inside and perfume the house.  The scent is that strong!  This year, I decided to pair them with the foliage of Physocarpus (Ninebark) 'Coppertina' and use a few of the rose-themed pieces I've collected over the years, usually at thrift or second-hand stores.

My mom loved roses and enjoyed tea so we'll just throw these together as a late Mother's Day offering.  Interestingly, although afternoon tea is experiencing a bit of a renaissance, many of these objects are seen as passe and can be easily found at garage sales.  Funny, with the exception of the teapot, I've never actually used any of these vessels for tea.  

There were more roses yet so they got floated in bowls on the dining room table.  That entire space now smells divine.

Floating works well for these as they like to hang down from the branches which is charming in a climber under which one walks but not so much of a treat to arrange in a vase.  Confession: chopsticks were used in the first arrangement to keep the roses facing upward.

People don't seem to want to bother with crystal these days.  I'm basing that on the glut of it observed at extremely low prices on the secondary market.    

What are your thoughts about afternoon tea?  I'm usually still at work around tea time so,  for me it usually consists of a teabag in a travel mug that held my morning coffee and a piece of fresh fruit. Are you a tea person and if so, have you favorites?  (Mine - cucumber sandwiches, scones with lemon curd and clotted cream although I can't eat most of that anymore.)