Today was a gorgeous day in Madrid and I was checking to see how the rose bushes were doing from my aggressive pruning a few weeks back.

Fresh leaves and shoots were sprouting. I can tell because the new ones are always red.

Then I wondered, "Why do the leaves begin red?" After all, they eventually turn green, so why not start off green to begin with?

There are quite a number of plants in Madrid where new growth is not a bright green, but a deep red; something I have observed since arriving here, but never "noticing".

The picture (not a very inspiring one) is of some new leaves on one of the rose bushes.