1970 the Grateful Dead released their magnum opus American Beauty. With songs like Box of Rain and Truckin' this LP defined the acid cowboy ethos of the band. American Beauty was the soundtrack for so many nights of my early life.
The music of American Beauty is only one part of the experience. On the cover of the LP was a wood grain background with an image of a slightly over prime American Beauty rose. The image was captivating and enthralling.
Once you had separated the seeds and the stems using your plastic university ID card on the album cover, and after having rolled yourself a tight one, you could sit back light up and just stare at that cover for hours. Both sides of the LP jacket had rose imagery. It fascinated and delighted.
That rose stirred my passion for roses for years there after. It turned out the university I attended had a number of the All American rose selection beds. Discovering that fact inadvertently while wandering stoned through the campus gardens was serendipitous. For years sober and straight I would go see the blooms and sniff the curious beautiful fragrances the roses would give off. Some were are so magically fragrant.
This fascination did not lead me to horticulture as a career. That fascination did make me a fan of gardens and blossoms. Maybe that is why I am such a fan of taking pictures with my iPhone of the blossoms I see on my walks now. Yep I love flowers because once when I was stoned I stared at it hippie album cover.
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