Roses

This week I have looked into the meaning and symbolism of the Rose. The quote for this week is from Romeo and Juliet, “What’s in a name? That which we call a Rose by any other name would smell as sweet”

The Rose has many different meanings depending on the colour that is given. The classic red Rose represents love and passion and is most associated with romantic love, these are very popular for Valentines Day and Anniversaries. White Roses symbolise purity and innocence making them popular wedding flowers. Peach represents modesty and sincerity, yellow Roses would now be associated with warmth, wealth and friendship but Victorians linked them with jealousy. Orange is for pride and intensity, and pink is for gratitude, elegance and sweetness. Lavender Rose meanings are wonder and enchantment.  Lots of sources talk about black and blue roses however, neither of these colours are found naturally. You can get very dark red Roses that appear to be black, an example of this is the ‘The Back Rose of Turkey’. A true-blue colour is not found within the Rose family but, many lavender Roses were introduced in the 50’s and 60’s through cultivation and some have a near blue hue to them.

The Rose is one of the oldest flowering plants grown for decoration. Documents dating back to AD 50 suggest that Romans were growing Roses for medicinal extracts, ingredients for cooking, and for decoration. A festival was held each May for Roses as they were so adored by the Romans, it was known as Resalia or Rosatio. However, the Rose could be even older than this, there are Rose fossils dating back 35 million years. The oldest living Rose is 1,000 years old, and it lives in the Cathedral of Heildesheim in Germany, this Rose survived the Allied bombing in 1945 that destroyed the Cathedral, the Rose was found in the rubble and is still alive today.

The Rose is the national flower of England however; in the 15th century the Rose took on a different connotation during the civil wars for the English throne. The conflict between the Royal Houses of York and Lancaster which are known as the War of the Roses. Both houses had a different colour Rose as a representation of their House. York was white and Lancaster was red (the colour pink was classed as red in the early modern world) The formation of the House of Tudor united both sides and the Tudor Rose was created as a symbol of a peaceful end to the long civil war.

The most expensive Rose ever created is the ‘Juliet Rose’, it cost the creator David Austin £2.3 million pounds to create and 15 years to develop and was first displayed at the Chelsea Flower Show in 2006.

A few facts about Roses;

Roses are June birth month flower.

The Latin name for a Rose is Rosa.

There are over 300 accepted species of Rose.

All Rose petals can be edible if they have been grown organically.

The Rose has such an interesting history and is really strong in both symbolism and its ability to survive though the ages. I have a whole new appreciation for Roses, I hope you do to.

Thanks for reading, see you next week.

sources

Sophie Allport – 10 interesting facts on Roses

The smell of roses – 10 fascinating facts about Roses that will simply astonish you – Anna Zverhova

Bunches – Rose Day, 10 fun facts about Roses

National Trust – Roses in art and collection we care for – Sally-anna Huxtable

Art and Objects – Rose symbolism throughout art history – Angelica Frey

The healing power of flowers – Claire Boven and Eva Nemeith