The Pierre de Ronsard  rose in the corner of the garden pleased me enormously when we got home from our recent holiday.

Pierre de Ronsard Rose rampant
Pierre de Ronsard Rose rampant

Even in late May there were a dozen flowers.  There were buds, too.

This romantic rose is my all time favourite flower. A relatively new rose, it was first produced thirty years ago. It was named for Pierre de Ronsard (1524 – 1585), a poet in the court of Mary Queen of Scots. He was also a keen gardener.

It was love at first sight for me. There’s been a place in my garden(s) for this rose ever since.

my perfect rose
my perfect rose

Pierre de Ronsard rose – perfect

The Pierre De Ronsard rose is my perfect rose because

  • Each individual bloom is exquisite.
  • The cream buds darken to pale pink as they open, and finally to very deep pink. (Some people even describe the colour as carmine.)
  • At their best, the cup-shaped blooms are around four inches (10.5 cms) across.
  • When the blooms open, around forty petals are revealed. Some remain crumpled in the heart of the flower.
  • Flushes of blooms follow each other most of the year.
Roses in my study
Roses in my study
  • Blooms last well as cut flowers.
  • The slight perfume is sweet and distinctive.
  • There are very few thorns.
  • The Pierre de Ronsard is a vigorous climber.
  • It is easy to care for.

Every year at the end of winter, I prune my rose. Ruthlessly. It rewards me with rampant growth that can be trained to cover trellises and along fence tops. One I grew climbed over the fence and into a nearby tree.

After the new growth come flushes of blooms.  I cut off the spent blooms when I remember. The plant works even harder then to produce more flowers.

Editing and the Pierre de Ronsard

This wasn’t meant to be a gardening blog. I woke this morning thinking about the memoir I’ve been labouring over. For ever, it seems. A few months ago, I sent the manuscript to my friend, Christina Houen at Perfect Words Editing. Within a few days, it came back.

Christina had gone through my memoir. Thoroughly. She said she enjoyed reading it. And she  made careful and considerate suggestions about severe pruning, severe editing.

I resisted. It felt too painful to cut out so much.  I wasn’t ready.

From where I sit at my desk, I can see the Pierre de Ronsard rose through the window . The rose responds to pruning and rewards me every time. And I bet the poet, Pierre de Ronsard, didn’t hesitate to prune his poetry.

So here I am, again. Pruning. Thank you, Christina.

Thanks for visiting my blog. I’d love to read your comments.

4 replies on “Pierre de Ronsard and editing”

  1. Thank you, Maureen, for a delightful reverie on roses, pruning and editing. your Pierre de Ronsard is lovely indeed. Unusual for a flower to deepen in hue as it ages; perhaps that is what we women do! I like the analogy with editing. It is painful to cut away lush growth, but it is also productive of new growth, new beauty. Happy editing. PS: my favourite rose, when I was a gardener, was a fragrant dark red one; but I can’t remember its name! Any suggestions?

    1. Thank you Christina! I love the idea that we women deepen in hue as we age. I had never thought of that. Sometimes, because of my Christian background, I think of pruning vines to make them more productive, as in the New Testament. But my Pierre de Ronsard is not only more productive when I prune it. The flowers are also more beautiful, bigger, when I’ve cut it back hard. I hope my memoir reflects some of that when I have finished editing it. There are quite a few dark red roses and I don’t know their names. Anyone else?

  2. Love your rose Maureen – but will love reading your next memoir when you have ‘pruned’ it to perfection!!

    1. Thanks, Elizabeth. I think I’ve given up on perfection this time around. But my memoir will be much better after I’ve done more editing.

Comments are closed.

%d bloggers like this: