During the last few days before the September equinox, this rose bloomed in my yard. The red and white rose hybrid, “Scentimental”, was planted by my great aunt Anna Dunfey.
She planted it around 1990 at her home in Newport, Rhode Island, in the Point district. It is old fashioned, as she was. Some years after she died, I moved into the house on North Baptist street and tended the rose bush. I added to the gardens, moved the rose to a more sunny spot, built a new fence, and enjoyed Anna’s deep fuchsia and white roses every summer.
When I moved to Tiverton, I brought the plant with me. It is now over 30 years old, small and week. I think it made less than five blossoms this year. Each winter, I wonder if it will survive. So when it produced one last blossom days before summer ended, I said, “this is your moment, old friend.” I brought the flower into my studio and made this painting.
“Last Summer Rose” is dedicated to Anna Denio Dunfey, 1909-1999.