Floral Hierarchy

I was working outside, weeding.  It seems like that's my full time summer job but the price we pay for having gardens and flower beds.  A small price, I'd say, for their beauty and bounty...

While I was tending to them, I got to wondering "So who decided that the rose should be the queen of
the floral hierarchy?"  Is it her beauty alone?  Is it because she's higher maintenance than her minions, like the petunia or the geraniums?  Granted, the geranium doesn't have her fragrance (in fact, to me,
geraniums stink!) and petunias can get leggy, but really... who died and made the rose boss of the garden?  They all have to be dead-headed so what makes Rose think she's so special?

Rose's poor cousins, lilacs and lillies of the valley, never stay around long enough, in my opinion.  They're far more fragrant than Rose but they probably tire of the her boorish behavior so their visit is short-lived.  But lillies of the valley are pretty invasive, too, oftentimes going where they want to go, which is pretty rude for a once- a - year visitor.

I love daisies.  They seem to have a kind of friendly screw-off attitude about things.  They spread themselves around pretty generously,  their cheery colors welcoming garden visitors.  They just seem like carefree fun-lovers... so unlike that haughty Rose.

And who decided that dandelions are "weeds"?  If we'd look at them closely in a kind way, rather than as someone who's trying to kill them, perhaps we'd appreciate their beauty.  Nah, they're way too prolific, show no self-control, and pop up unexpectedly, so we'd better get rid of them!

I'll grant you this...Rose, you are beautiful. But you're far from perfect.    Sure, your color and fragrance are a nice addition to the landscape, but you DO have thorns!  I guess I just prefer something that is less snobbish about their beauty.  And just so Rose knows, if we lived somewhere tropical, she'd be hearing footsteps, as the gardenia would take her place at the top of the floral hierarchy, in MY book!   Now, that's a flower!