Yes, that is a hungry bee (or is it a wasp) feasting on the nectar of this prolific white rose bush in the center of Istanbul. As soon as we left the Istanbul airport on the drive into town, we passed thousands upon thousands of rosebushes on roadway islands and beside major streets. They had just peaked a week or two earlier but they were still an impressive site. Most people would associate the tulip with the Netherlands, but actually, the bulbs are said to have originated in Turkey or thereabouts, and Turkey is trying to plant them by the millions to regain its place as the rightful home base of one of the world’s most popular flowers…
But when we were in Istanbul a few months ago, it was the roses that were starring on the flower line-up. Near public monuments, on roadways, in parks, the rosebushes were blooming and in such wonderful varieties and colors. Just stunning.
And these didn’t seem like the wimpy roses you find in hot tropical climates, these were actually often best described as being voluptuous…
Blooms had so many layers of petals they seemed almost as full as peonies and their heads drooped towards the ground under the weight of each bloom.
These photos were taken in several locations throughout the touristy areas of Istanbul and I must say the flowers were beautiful.
Huge bushes of hydrangeas and milflores in full bloom were almost as beautiful as some of the mosques and churches and ruins that we visited.
Colors ranged from deep to pale pinks, purples, lavenders, blues, etc.
Orange potted begonias(?) at a lunch table and a column of blooming jasmine behind it made meals seem all that more luxurious…
…while beds of marigolds and other blooms made gardens scream out with natural colors. The blooms of Istanbul in early June were wonderful!
Note: Several of these photos were taken by The Kid.
16 Responses
Beautiful flowers– great pictures, The Kid. MM, looks like you can have a sidekick per se for picture taking. What foods are served at Istanbul?
I love the flowers!!!!!!!
My first thought was like, sarap gamitin sa arrangements!
See the hydrangeas? I remember when you had to reject the hydrangeas you initially ordered for the Kid’s communion because of the poor quality LOL
So beautiful!! lovely colors….
Such lovely blooms..what a sight for sore eyes even on a hot summer day.
beautiful flowers; lovely photos. did the roses smell good as well as they look?
the jasmine looks different from the jasmine . . . and the smell? thanks for yet another treat
beautiful flowers…great pics…thanks for sharing this with us…
oh i love the yellow roses! nice shots by The Kid!
wow—the old fashioned roses!! they’re hardy and smell wonderful! when i pass the blooms, i always “take time” to you-know-what….worth the time, and i don’t care if i look silly…thanks for the colorful fotos,MM
Really blooming! Flowers could really moved me… SOmething in those!
Beautiful is the only word I can describe them!
I used to have 13 varieties of roses planted in my yard, including one “antique” which was already in the property when we bought it. But now that we’ve moved, and I am just renting, I don’t feel like buying another plant and just leave it when we move again. For now there are 2 wild kinds that is on the side of the house, pero the bloom only last for a day or 2 (parang day lily) and it looks scraggly. In the Philippines though (when I visited this summer), I was able to purchase a white kind (real huge and double petals), and an orange outside-yellow inside variety, at a local church in Sampaloc. I brought the plants in Quezon, and some locals said they have not seen something like that before. Well, I am not there anymore, and I hope my cousin takes care of it; alot of the neighbors are already asking for some branches to graft in their own yard. I’ll see how it goes when I come back next year.
i love roses a lot. i only have 15 plants which are about 10 years old. they have the vibrant colors of deep red, yellow,
purple, pale pink, peach, dark pink , another yellow one with a tinge of red. they are all in full bloom at this time and i enjoy watering them every morning along with my other flowering plants and vegetable plants. i’ve also been harvesting my heirloom tomatoes and other vegetables. i’ve been sharing the tomatoes with friends and i also freeze the rest for sauces in wintertime. my cherry tomato plant has been fruiting profusely. i can’t help picking some to eat while i am in the garden because they’re so sweet and juicy. homegrown tomatoes are much better compared to the rubbery and tasteless ones available in the supermarkets all year round. with my ampalaya plants, i also pick their leaves and washing them thoroughly before i store them in the freezer for future use. i fill individual ziplocks with the clean ampalaya leaves and freeze them so that i have it available whenever i cook munggo. believe or not, the leaves freeze really well and maintains their vibrant green color. how i wish that there is a filipino supermarket nearby but we don’t have one where i live….
My first job was with the Canadian Institute for the Blind where they kept a rose garden expressly for the visually impaired. The obvious quality they cultivated for was of course fragrance but even allowing for their primary bias towards scent did not detract from the blossoms turning out invariably spectacular all summer long.
there is a rose (very similar to 5th photo above) named after Auguste Renoir whose flowers are also being described as voluptuous, like the women in some of his masterpieces.
Great pictures!
What great rose pix!! Could someone tell me when the roses are at their best in Istanbul and where you might see some of the best? We’ll be there in April and I’m hoping to see roses. Thx mch.