Island Light: All Hail Roses
Red roses cascade over an Edgartown picket fence.
Red roses cascade over an Edgartown picket fence.
Wild daisies carpet the meadow at Flanders Farm in Chilmark.
Wild daisies carpet the meadow at Flanders Farm in Chilmark.
Bicycles ready to be rented in Edgartown.
Bicycles ready to be rented in Edgartown.
Flower boxes viewed from inside at Menemsha Fish Market.
Flower boxes viewed from inside at Menemsha Fish Market.
A little fog won't stop these beachgoers in Menemsha.
A little fog won't stop these beachgoers in Menemsha.
West Tisbury's Grange Hall under a bright summer sun.
West Tisbury's Grange Hall under a bright summer sun.
This group of Oak Bluffs women reunite every year on the Vineyard.
This group of Oak Bluffs women reunite every year on the Vineyard.
A welcoming sight at Tashmoo Farm.
A welcoming sight at Tashmoo Farm.
It is the romance of the rose, of course, that makes it so important. The gift of a rose, it is said, is a gift of love. Island roses stream over downtown fences, creep along beaches, and decorate edges of farm fields.
The first rose to grow, according to a medieval tale, sprouted in Bethlehem when an innocent maiden, accused as a witch by a spurned lover, was sentenced to be burned at the stake. But God intervened; the stake budded and the maiden stood unharmed beneath a canopy of red and white rose blossoms.
All hail the rose!