We found these pretty blooms in a petite but unexpectedly spacious park in San Jose. All kinds of colorful roses were growing in rows regularly tended by volunteers. If you weren’t specifically looking for this park, it’d be easy to overlook. It’s nestled inside a charming neighborhood; from the exterior, it looks like someone’s very large and well-maintained yard.
It was a quick peripheral stroll with the family, but it seemed like a photo shoot outing for families and couples
Others vistors relaxed on the grass, either reading, napping, or drawing, between rows of roses. What alarmed me was that many park goers did not adhere to the mask rule even though a large official sign (visitors need to wear masks) was placed near the entrance.
We got nervous about this, but decided it would be okay: it’s outdoors; groups of people were unto themselves; and we wore masks; and maintained social distance.
It stirred mixed emotions of frustration and sadness that many people were not taking the COVID-19 precautions seriously. I realize that some individuals cannot wear masks due to health reasons but all those people couldn’t have had that reason. At least groups of people were spread out inside the park.
It’s been hard to stay home when the weather is this lovely and summer vacation is almost ending.
Here are some pictures of my finds, and I hope you all have a happy and safe rest of the weekend!
Thanks Cee for hosting this challenge! Have a great rest of the weekend. 🙂
Categories: flower of the day
singlikewildflowers
Welcome to my blog! My name is Esther and I'm so happy you are here. I'm an avid nature photographer and a daydreaming thinker. My posts revolve around photos of nature's beauty, homeschooling adventures with my 2 kids, sporadic reflections on my child's heart condition, Bible reading reflections, gardening feats, and other mish mash things. Hopefully you'll leave encouraged, pensive, or smiling at the simple things of life. Thank you for stopping by and hope you'll find some interesting posts to read!
sing like wildflowers 
People are so ignorant. Invincible I guess is the word we should use. They feel they will not catch it. How could they? It is only the flu/flu-like illness. Buffoons of the world unite and allow natural selection work itself out. My sarcasm aside I love the pictures. My amma loved rose bushes and had no luck with them. I have recently begun purchasing small rose plants and so far…….one is in rebloom that I planted in the outside window planter. I have one with white blooms that unthinkingly I killed off when I was using a pot next to it to hold my incense stick. Ooops. Waiting to see if the rest of the blooms will come back. The three newest are a cream white and reddish purple. I just transplanted on Friday. Fingers crossed that I have not killed them. Have a wonderful Sunday. 🙂
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Your outspokenness and straightforward response of those choosing not to wear masks are refreshing to hear!!
It’s so great that you are growing roses! I hope that they are the hardy types and will bloom some pretty flowers for you. The transplant process scares me a bit; I wonder if I did it right or if I carelessly hurt the tender roots. My herbs transplant gave me mixed results. Out of 3, only 1. That’s pretty good for me though.
Have a great Tuesday and hope you guys enjoy this second week of August! 🙂
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So far so good with regards to the roses. One of the ones that I transplanted outside is blooming again. I am waiting to see if I have destroyed the larger rose bush I bought. The three I just transplanted I am waiting to see. They seem happy. I have only lost two buds. At the moment Tember is with his dad in voluntary quarantine. Monitoring for symptoms. His 2 weeks is up the day he comes back home to me. I will have to take some pictures of my roses and post on blog. I will let you know when I do. Have a great evening. 🙂
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That’s great news! Your transplanting process was successful. I hope the other ones thrive too. It builds gardening confidence.
Enjoy your alone time till Tember comes home! I hope he is staying healthy and having fun during the voluntary quarantine. It’s not easy finding things to do in the same place, day in and day out.
Looking forward to the rose pictures. Hope the new kitty is doing well!
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How beautiful is this rose garden is Esther – you have captured it beautifully. A few blocks away is the Green Team volunteers’ garden. That is where I got the butterflies on the orange Lantana. Originally, it was just a rose garden tended to by a group of women who loved roses, but they either moved away, passed away or lost interest. Some roses remain – the roses are so pretty and delicate here. I get angry at the people who defy the rules (and commonsense) and continue to go into a public place. It’s a recipe for disaster. The pink/white roses near the bottom are similar to one a neighbor had years ago – it had the name “Candy Cane” in it and looked like crushed candy canes. Very unique and pretty!
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Thank you Linda!! I felt like I didn’t do the place justice with my pictures, but I’m happy to get your positive comment. The sweeping view of different color roses and a large arch made me feel like I was in some countryside. Volunteers are pretty amazing to upkeep gardens; they do a fabulous job. Remember the Elizabeth Gamble garden in Palo Alto, the garden once owned by the granddaughter of Proctor and Gamble company. The grounds around her estate are tended by volunteers. Serious commitment and dedication. I hope the rose garden near you gets revived by new volunteers. It takes initiative and passion to get those things started.
I share the same frustration. What is so hard about wearing a mask?! It’s a collective effort that will slow the spread. And the angry response of people who don’t believe in wearing masks is frightening.
I remember you mentioned the Candy Cane flowers before!
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I just Googled the Elizabeth Gamble garden – wow, just beautiful there. I would like to see that. No, I had not heard of it before. I hope to return to the Henry and Clara Ford estate next year to see the lilac gardens. They just opened up the estate (outside only as they have been doing extensive restoration for five years already and still not done). They have a rose garden with rose bushes. Just gorgeous. I think a local garden club takes care of those massive gardens. I have held onto the pictures as I wanted to include those lilacs, then they were closed. I will probably just use the photos over this Winter. I’ve got them on a flash drive, but took a quick peek at them last August, then never looked at them again. It will be a long post. The Candy Cane roses were beautiful … light red and white tinges. Gorgeous. I get angry about the mask – people are amazing sometimes.
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The Gamble garden is tended beautifully and is in the middle of an affluent neighborhood. Ellis and I would stop there after her doctor visits at Stanford and end the morning with some beautiful flowers. We’d also stop by Starbucks to pick up treats for the ride home, but that’s going to be hard now with the COVID. Too much precautions to take with germs.
There is another garden here near Stanford called Filoli garden. This place is amazing and preserved as a historical site; it used to be the country house for a wealthy couple in the early 1900s.
I wish I paid more to the information when we took a tour of the house. But of course, I wasn’t paying attention and doing my own thing.
Volunteers are cool and so are garden clubs!! I’m not sure, but volunteers at those gardens may host fundraiser events for kids to learn about horticulture.
Use those photos!! It’ll be nice to see the rose garden of the Ford estate. I wonder what the inner restoration will be like. It’ll be fabulous to visit once it’s done.
Agree…people can be irrational and offended too easily.
Have a great evening and happy midweek tomorrow!
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The restoration is not complete as far as I know – just Googled it and could not find an update on the restoration. I probably took enough photos to make two posts for sure. I figured I’d do it over last Winter, but we had a mild Winter, so I went out walking a lot more than anticipated. The estate is situated on the Rouge River and they had some natural rock walkways near there that are beautiful as well.
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So many beautiful blooms!
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The work of dedicated green thumb volunteers! This place would be lovely for a picnic and a nap. It’s nestled among homes and businesses, so it would be an easy spot to stop by and enjoy the tranquil space.
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It sure is! Thank you, volunteers! It’s situated in a convenient place, too. That’s wonderful. I recall having something of the sort where I work, before nature was ruined to make way for an unwanted water park.
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Oh no, a water park would have diminished natural life around that place. Where we live, there’s ongoing construction of homes and businesses. It’s amazing how much they are building; it makes me wonder about its impact.
And volunteers make great things happen!
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Exactly! So much of wildlife habitats were destroyed just to make way for a water park that’s not even popular. Hmmm, for real, though.
That, they certainly do!
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Sadness…
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