Phyler and I decided that we needed to plant a rose garden and make our newly gifted Guardian Rose the star of the garden. Knowing Phyler’s fascination with all things of the genus Rosaceae, and admittedly quite fond of roses myself, I created an entire English style rose garden for us to enjoy. The obvious place for it was at the base of my shamelessly outsized gnome statue that rests high upon its Roman column.
We all agreed we should go bold because, well, why not. We would enjoy a bright change from shady and serene forests. The rose garden is a bit formal with its tidy concentric rings spaced carefully around the statue. However, the roses do not consist of perfectly clipped and shaped, long-stemmed flowers. Instead, the tumbling masses of cheerful blooms serve as exuberant ornaments highlighting the huge, rambling, gorgeously full rosebushes.
We planted a variety of roses with a profusion of colors, ranging from tiny white petals to large blooms of ginger tones to palettes of pinks, yellows, creams and lavenders. The red roses have an intense color and vibrancy of their own. Butterflies constantly surround all the blooms, adding even more to the loveliness.
The roses know we admire them, so they make an extra effort to create blooms as big and colorful as possible, blooms as big as Phyler herself.
We placed the Guardian Rose in its own special area, close to the Grove of the Ancients. The Grove is the most ancient forest on the planet with the largest, wisest and most treasured trees. They have acquired knowledge from the earth itself, through their deep roots and psychic connections to fellow Ancients all over the galaxy. They keep an ear to the ground, so to speak, and have a familiarity with current events, too. They were delighted to welcome the Rose.
When the Ancients see the Guardian Rose change to its troubled purple color, they quickly notify ravens to pass along a message to Phyler or me, or to whoever is in charge for the day. The few times the trees did not notice the color change or the strong breezes, the butterflies smelled the alteration in aroma. They passed along the Rose’s warning instead. Either way, the Guardian Rose has been helpful to us many times.
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We named the garden, very simply, “Phyler’s rose garden.” We are quite pleased with the garden, but occasionally add new roses just for the fun of having even more beautiful blooms to enjoy.
Phyler’s entire flutter of fairies often stop by to visit the roses, lightly descending onto the colorful flowers. You have not lived until you’ve seen an entire rose garden covered with fairies flitting through the air or lounging on soft petals, or sitting cross-legged almost hidden in the centers of the largest roses. The roses obviously like their visits since they nod and sway with enjoyment.
Phyler’s favorite flowers are roses, so the garden is extra special to her. She loves everything about roses, even the protective thorns which she gracefully manages to avoid. Phyler says she has always found roses quite easy to talk to and looks forward to a visit with them. The roses seem to have plenty to talk about. The high-pitched chitter chatter of fairies is fun to listen to, although as always I don’t fully comprehend it. I was always best at simply understanding the roses’ feeling of enjoying fairy visitors on a warm and sunny day.
Phyler’s rose garden gets a multitude of both local and off-world visitors due to its impressive roses. The energy and scent and shape of the roses is quite remarkable. It has even been mentioned on lists of sites to see within our solar system, along with our peaceful Long Lake.
You have probably guessed that I can’t resist starting my security presentations with holograms of beautiful Zelen scenery. I like to say that the images give the audience a better insight into the amazingly beautiful planet I am discussing, although secretly I just like looking at the pictures.
Phyler and I have given talks at intergalactic council meetings, discussing our great success in finding ways for fairies and gnomes to work together to keep Zelen safe. We have been trying to encourage more cooperation between our two groups, even if only in security matters. There was some interest in our story but it didn’t seem to lead to much action. We had to settle for writing up our adventures as an addition to the akashic records, where anyone could research the topic as desired.
Fairies are immortal, if they care to be. Therefore, royalty is expected to step down from being in a position of power after 500 years or so. This is what Queen Sintilla has done, moving into an advisory role to the new queen. The former Queen Sintilla still stops by Zelen once in a while to see how the rose garden has changed and expanded. Phyler visits Sintilla at the royal court on occasion, both to discuss fairy business and as a loyal friend. I am always happy to bow and greet the former queen here in the Round Woods, or send my warm regards along with Phyler.