I first met Stephen about five years ago, when he was the featured speaker at the spring garden symposium at the Lynchburg City Cemetery. He and I hit it off, and we have seen each other from time to time at other rose events ... and we email about various things occasionally.
Stephen Scanniello was here ... at my house ... and in my unholy mess of a garden. I should have been mortified, but it was quite the opposite experience.
When the garden is as big a mess as mine is now, the roses that are doing well shine even brighter ... flaunting their flowers despite the weeds and neglect.
Stephen and I walked the garden and talked about the roses (of course). We both have a particular fondness for found roses, and I introduced him to some of my favorites.
We also put our heads together about a project that I will be working on at Hollywood Cemetery (more on this later in a separate post).
Though the sky was cloudy, and we had brief spells of light rain, my visit here with Stephen was absolutely lovely. There's nothing much better than sharing roses and conversation like this. It was a great way to spend the afternoon.
(All of the photos in this post were taken yesterday, shortly before Stephen arrived. The overcast sky created a perfect soft light, and the roses were patient and willing subjects.)