SCOUT: “Hhhmmm…” *Ponders as he peers over the top of a rose.* “Hhhmmm… no.”
PADDY: *Watches Scout with mild bemusement.*
SCOUT: “Hhhmmm…” *Lifts petals with paw.* “Hhhmmm… no, not that either.”
PADDY: “Hullo Scout!”
SCOUT: “Oh! Hullo Paddy.” *Distracted.* “Hhhmmm… I wonder.” *Peers between petals.* “Hhhmmm… no, not that either.”
PADDY: “Scout, what on earth are you doing?”
SCOUT: “Paddy? How can you tell?”
PADDY: “Tell what, Scout?”
SCOUT: “How can you tell whether a rose is a lady or a man?”
PADDY: “I beg your pardon, Scout?” *Perplexed.*
SCOUT: “How can you tell whether a rose is a lady rose, or a man rose, Paddy?”
PADDY: “Why on earth are you asking that, Scout?”
SCOUT: “Well, I was taking to Daddy when we were looking at these roses before, and he told me that they are lady roses. I’ve been looking at this rose for ages now, and I can’t tell any difference between it and any other rose. How can Daddy tell that it’s a lady rose?”
PADDY: “Well Scout it might…”
SCOUT: “Oh! Is it because it is because it as apricot pink colour, Paddy? Is that why?”
PADDY: “Well no, Scout. It’s actually bec…”
SCOUT: “That’s such a relief, Paddy!”
PADDY: “Why is that such a relief, Scout?”
SCOUT: “Well, because I like to wear an apricot pink scarf sometimes, but I’m a boy, not a girl! I don’t want to be categ… categori… I don’t want to be called a girl just because I like to wear apricot pink.”
PADDY: “Oh Daddy would never categorise you, Scout. No Daddy identif…”
SCOUT: “Is it because the rose is all ruffly, like a tutu. Paddy?”
PADDY: “Well no, Scout. Daddy actuall…”
SCOUT: “Oh that’s a big relief too!”
PADDY: “And why is that such a big relief, Scout?”
SCOUT: “Well, I would have thought that was obvious, Paddy! It’s because I like to wear tutus sometimes.”
PADDY: “You can wear your tutus as much as you like, Scout. It’s fine. Nobear has called you a girl because you wear tutus, have they?”
SCOUT: *Thinks for a moment. “Well no, Paddy.”
PADDY: “Exactly.”
SCOUT: “So how does Daddy know this is a lady rose and not a man rose then, Paddy?”
PADDY: “Well, if you’d just let me finish, Scout,” *Frustrated.* “I’ll tell you!”
SCOUT: “Well, there is no need to shout, Paddy. I’m not ancient and deaf, like some bears I know… who I would like to point out remain nameless to protect your… err, I mean… their identity.”
PADDY: “Ahem! I am not deaf, Scout… nor ancient, as I keep telling you.”
SCOUT: “Paddy!” *Offended.* “I never said it was you I was talking about… even if it was you I was talking about.”
PADDY: *Frowns.* “Do you want to know how Daddy knows that this is a lady rose or not, Scout?”
SCOUT: “Well of course I do, Paddy! That’s why I am asking you. I hope you aren’t suffering from heatstroke from the sun.”
PADDY: *Nonplussed.* “The reason how Daddy knows that this is a lady rose is because he read it off the sign down there.” *Points to a sign imbedded into the brick garden edging.*
SCOUT: “Oh why didn’t you just say so, Paddy?”
PADDY: “But I just did, Scout.”
SCOUT: “Humph!” *Huffs.* “There is no need to be so literal, Paddy.”
PADDY and SCOUT: *Walk over and looks at sign.*
SCOUT: “What does it say, Paddy?”
PADDY: “You can read it, Scout! You know enough of your letters to at least try reading it.”
SCOUT: *Reads aloud.* “Rosa ‘The Lady’.”
PADDY: “Well done, Scout. I’m proud of you. It’s a hybrid tea rose.”
SCOUT: “Ooooh! So that’s how Paddy knew this rose was a lady!” *Sighs.* “It’s because her name is Rosa!”
PADDY: *Perplexed.* “I don’t think you have the right idea, Scout.” *Sighs.*
My Paddington Bear came to live with me in London when I was two years old (many, many years ago). He was hand made by my Great Aunt and he has a chocolate coloured felt hat, the brim of which had to be pinned up by a safety pin to stop it getting in his eyes. The collar of his mackintosh is made of the same felt. He wears wellington boots made from the same red leather used to make the toggles on his mackintosh.
He has travelled with me across the world and he and I have had many adventures together over the years. He is a very precious member of my small family.
Scout was a gift to Paddy from my friend. He is a Fair Trade Bear hand knitted in Africa. His name comes from the shop my friend found him in: Scout House. He tells me that life was very different where he came from, and Paddy is helping introduce him to many new experiences. Scout catches on quickly, and has proven to be a cheeky, but very lovable member of our closely knit family.
The St Kilda Botanical Gardens are a very beautiful place to visit, not least for all for their wonderful array of roses found in the Alister Clarke Rose Garden. This was where In took Paddy and Scout a few weeks ago.
Bred in the United Kingdom by Gareth Fryer in 1985 from a cross between 'Pink Parfait' and 'Redgold', "The Lady" is a mildly fragrant apricot pink hybrid tea rose with dark green foliage, which is named after Britain’s oldest women’s weekly magazine ‘The Lady’, which has been in publication since 1885.
The site of the St Kilda Botanical Gardens were established in the 1800's. The municipal council petitioned the Department of Lands and Survey to make this segment of land bordered by Dickens Street, Tennyson Street and Blessington Street a Botanic Garden. The gardens were formally established in 1859 when a boundary fence was erected. By 1907 significant donations of money and plant material had led to the establishment of a rosary, extensive flower beds and a nursery. Exotic forest trees were planted during the 1870s and Australian species were included in 1932. In the 1950s the Alister Clarke Rose Garden was established and a Sub-Tropical Rain-forest conservatory added in the early 1990's.
