Shy and dangerous.

[leene_chan]

Shy Polareis?, a photo by Leenechan on Flickr.

I kept trying to tug this flower out of its hiding place behind a branch to take its photo and let me tell ya, Polareis has the nastiest thorns of any rose in the yard. The plant looks kind of ridiculous now--it's shaped like a wishbone with odd, crinkly leaves like a palm tree's, vicious spikes all up and down its ugly brown canes and flowers like big pink-and-white parasols. I think that once it grows some upright canes and stops looking like it's holding a yoga pose it will be quite attractive. The flowers age beautifully...