Roses

The Rose is deservedly the most prized of garden plants. It is of easy culture and suited to a wide variety of soils, with exquisitely shaped, often fragrant and delightfully coloured blooms, which continue flowering over a long period.

Fossil remains in Europe and America establish the existence of Roses millions of years back and they are mentioned in the writings of both Theophrastus and Pliny. Theophrastus indeed gave what must surely be the first comment on Rose pruning when e wrote - 'If a bush be cut or burnt over it bears better flowers, for if left to itself it grows luxuriantly and makes too much wood.'

The name Rose comes from shod, meaning red. The Island of Rhodes received its name because of the quantities of them which grew wild on its rocky shores. Both the Greeks and Romans used great quantities of the flowers at their feasts and festivals; Nero is said to have spent four million sesterces (approximately £ 17,000) on these plants for a single festive occasion.

Small wonder that the early Fathers of the Church disapproved of the Rose, because of its pagan association. They would not allow it into their churches for many years, until, strangely enough, it became the emblem of the martyrs, the five petals representing the five wounds of Christ and the white Rose the virginity of Mary.

Roses were much used in England in the Middle Ages for adorning shrines, wreathing candles, as rents nd in heraldry. The Tudor Rose of Britain is derived from the amalgamation of York and Lancaster after the Wars of the Roses, when:

`Henry VII did the Roses unite,
His own was the red, and his wife's the white.'

Most garden species were initially collected by explorers and varieties obtained from crossing these have been derived from many growers and sources. Apart from their value as garden plants the petals have been candied, made into jam, used for Rose Water, sugar, rosettes and of course oil and perfume.