The unabashed prettiness of pink roses is always a joy to behold. The best ones are terribly thorny and heavenly scent. I’m collecting cuttings of pink roses at the moment for a planned Pompadour bed in my garden, in honour of the arts she commissioned and inspired. In 1757 the Sevres Porcelain factory, of which she was a great supporter, created a colour named after her – Rose Pompadour. Bleu Celeste is a gorgeous blue made by the same chemist. The history and recipes for these colours and other decorative materials from the period are wonderfully documented at Makers and Materials.
