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| California Dreamin is our last hybrid tea rose this summer. |
"The Last Rose of Summer" is a poem by Irish poet Thomas Moore, who was a friend of Byron and Shelley. Moore wrote it in 1805 while at Jenkinstown Park in County Kilkenny, Ireland. Sir John Stevenson set the poem to its beautiful melody and it was published in a collection of Moore's work called Irish Melodies (1807-34). It was made popular in the twenty first century in a recording by Charlotte Church and the Irish Tenors.
This melody was used extensively throughout Friedrich von Flotow's opera "Martha," first performed in 1847 in Vienna. According to the Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (1954), this opera was a remodelling from a ballet written in conjunction with Burgmuller and Deldevez and produced in Paris in 1844 as "Lady Henriette." It stands to reason, based on the evidence, that Flotow made liberal use of Stevenson's melody.
CELTIC WOMAN LYRICS
"The Last Rose Of Summer"
'Tis the last rose of summer left blooming alone
All her lovely companions are faded and gone
No flower of her kindred, no rosebud is nigh
To reflect back her blushes and give sigh for sigh
I'll not leave thee, thou lone one, to pine on the stem
Since the lovely are sleeping, go sleep thou with them
Thus kindly I scatter thy leaves o'er the bed
Where thy mates of the garden lie scentless and dead
So soon may I follow when friendships decay
And from love's shining circle the gems drop away
When true hearts lie withered and fond ones are flown
Oh who would inhabit this bleak world alone?
This bleak world alone.
Our Deep Frost Arrives Tonight - Sunny Days Ahead
I never expected to be cutting roses into late November, but that has been the case. Above is an example of the last hybrid tea rose of this year - California Dreamin'. I cut a vase full of roses for our dear friend and neighbor, who is still in the hospital.
Today will be my last cutting of roses for the altar this year. I used to play this song on my flute, because my mother "forced me to learn an instrument." I was a reluctant flutist on warm and sunny days, but the discipline introduced me to classical music, playing in a non-rock band, and participating in the orchestra. One can love music without having much talent in it. I always found it odd that someone would be gifted in music and take it for granted, yet there are many who take it for granted while they make their living in it.
Readers said they enjoyed the post with "Woodman Spare That Tree," and I like looking up background information on all these things.
Another Strange Event - Very Late Autumn Leaves
I trust that the 17 degree night will finish off the green leaves on so many trees. That will hasten our mulching with leaves, which started some time ago.
I look at leaves as a warm blanket for the plants and soil creatures, fertilizer for the future, and a pleasant looking mulch.
