Albertine: a fleeting beauty….

I so enjoy the fragile shell-pink petals against the sturdy iron-bark slabs of the potting shed. Any blooms produced by this rose in the autumn are truly a bonus and greatly cherished. Unlike spring when there are dozens, a single out-of-season bloom is utterly captivating.  I watched this flower from bud to petal-fall, over a few days this week (on my daily watering round), and was startled this morning when most of its petals abruptly disengaged themselves from the central stamen & floated to the ground….