Fans of Shojou Kakumei Utena will no doubt be thinking exactly the same thing I was when I took these pictures in a rose garden in Miami Beach, Florida a couple of weeks ago.

I know this is kind of late in coming, but real life came first.

The science of botany has, over the years, produced many families of roses: red, white, yellow, orange, pink, and a host of shades and combinations thereof. Only two kinds have yet to be grown in any fashion: blue and black. Which is kind of fitting when you think about it, but I digress.

The number of roses which have not yet been grown has fallen by one. The Suntory company of Japan has done what used to be considered impossible: they've grown blue roses. In nature …