In China, there's no war of the roses

There are some tough customers hanging out in the courtyard of my apartment building.

They are not neighborhood gangsters, but rosebushes - flaunting hues of pink, red, lavender, orange, and white - each with its own intoxicating scent.

November is not the usual time one goes into rhapsodies over roses. As cool weather arrives in the Northern Hemisphere, poets and garden lovers tend to swoon over golden gingko trees and flaming-red sumac leaves.