No flower in the world is nearly as famous as the rose. Small, big, scented, duo-coloured, with or without thorns, spray roses, climbing roses: the rose has it all. In this product profile we give a brief glimpse into the story of the true queen of your bouquet: the rose.
Product profile - Rose
January 7th, 2020
ORIGIN
Originally the Rose could be only found in the more temperate regions across the Northern Hemisphere. But those times are definitely over! The Rose is the most cultivated flower in the world, and is nowadays also commercially grown in countries such as Kenya and Ecuador. The 'cultivation madness' of the rose officially started in Europe around the 18th and 19th century. During this time spectacular rose gardens were planted, originally these gardens contained wild roses only. This was up until the 'Rosa chinensis' was imported from China. In contrary to the known varieties at the time, this new species from China had a longer lifespan. The European Wild roses and the Rosa Chinesis were crossbred, and hundreds of new varieties were 'born'.
MYTHOLOGY
Due to fossils, we know that roses have been gracing the face of this earth for about 35 million years. During this long history, they have been a symbol for love, war, politics and beauty. Roses have also been used as ingredients for medicine, food and perfume (to name just a few). The rose has seen it all.
A few interesting examples about the history of the rose and its symbolic meanings:
During the 15th century the rose was used as a symbol for two rival English houses. The white rose was symbol of the city of York, the red rose symbolised the city of Lancaster. ‘The war of the roses’ was the name of this conflict. When the war ended, ‘the Tudor rose’: symbol of union of the houses was designed. To this day, this rose remains a heraldic emblem of England.
The ancient Greek and the Romans associated roses with Aphrodite and Venus; goddesses of love. During the Roman times, roses were used to convey a message without words. But this message doesn't always have to be about love: when a wild rose was placed in front of a door, it meant that confidential matters were being discussed in that room.
AVAILABILITY
Generally speaking, the rose is available year round. But of course availability of specific roses depend on the season and circumstances of the breeder amongst others. Please click here to view or shop our current rose selection.
