I've never been much of a fan of cultivated roses, much preferring wild flowers. However, there is one rose namely the wild or so called 'dog' rose that I do admire for its simplicity and delicate shades of pink. (pictured).

Normally they flower in June but this year they begun blooming in May, way ahead of schedule as a result of the warm weather in April.

The poet Rupert Brooke wrote:

'Unkempt about the hedges blows

An English unofficial rose'.

Henry VII adopted the Tudor rose as his emblem and it has been a symbol of British monarchy ever since. It is also the ancestor of all cultivated roses. Strange then that it should be called 'dog' rose which implies of little worth, but the ancient Greeks believed that the boiled roots could cure anyone bitten by a mad dog!

The dog rose is also a valuable medicinal plant, its hips (fruits) rich in vitamin C and used as a syrup for children.

Also blooming now is my favourite wild flower namely the ox-eye daisy also know as 'dog daisy'. The term daisy is a corruption of 'day's eye', the golden centre representing the sun with white rays or petals radiating from it.