'What A Good Year For The Roses'

I returned yesterday from a visit to my parents. Sadly my father was diagnosed with vascular dementia last year and seems to be slipping away each time I visit. A bad fall in May which resulted in a broken hip has hindered his mobility and he seems to have gone downhill since. Whilst I was with them he was unwell and was admitted into an intermediate care centre. I am not sure how long he will be there and indeed wonder if he will be well enough to return home again.

Dad has always taken much pleasure from their garden. He sees this rose from his armchair near the window in the living room. He thinks that it is the best rose he ever planted. Although Dad struggles so much now with his short term memory he told me quite clearly on Saturday, that this rose needs pruning after it flowers earlier in the year, so that it will have a second flush later on. I wondered whether whether it is because that he is so fond of this rose that he could remember those facts. The intricacies of how the brain works are an amazing phenomenon which never cease to amaze.