For your inspiration this week, I’d like you to think about roses. They’re more of a summer flower to me, rather than a spring one, though my roses are all blooming right now. I just extended the landscaping along the side of my house and purchased two new rose bushes to help fill in the space. The images here are of flowers from those two bushes.

I don’t have a theme or overall plan with my landscaping, I confess. I mostly find plants that I like and then figure out where I’m going to put them. I couldn’t resist the vibrant colors of these two roses, so home with me they came! I love color and flowers can have some of the most intense, vibrant colors I’ve seen.

But anyway! Roses have many traditional meanings—there’s a whole language of meanings associated with the color of the rose (and for different flowers as well). That’s certainly an aspect you can explore with your art, if you’re so inclined. Other associations exist too, including a wealth of feelings and associations around the thorns—another potentially good topic to explore with your art.

I lived for several years in Aberdeen, Scotland, which is known for its roses. There are roses throughout the parks and gardens. They claim to have over two million roses in the city! So in a way, roses symbolize Scotland to me, though I have a stronger association with daffodils, of which there are also millions in the springtime in Aberdeen.

What do roses mean to you? How have you (or can you) use them in your artwork? I’d love to see what you come up with!