David Austin rose

Today we are going for a change, this time from our front garden. This is a David Austin rose, Zéphirine Drouhin, and we have it growing by the front gate. It's biggest advantage (apart from the beautifully scented flowers) is that it's virtually thornless, so if it gets out of control it won't attack any one walking past it.

It tends to be a paler pink than those grown in the UK, probably because of our warmer climate, and certainly the Autumn flush is a lot stronger in colour than the Spring flush, which is what you see here.

And it's pink for Breast Cancer Awareness.

My planned blip was going to be totally different, being a large and interesting structure 400 metres from our house. It looks amazing in the late afternoon sun. But it is a dull and showery day today, so my tower in the sun can wait for another much nicer day.