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Every rose tells a story....  by Charlie Farricielli from Rose Farm Buy Farm Fresh Grower Direct 

People have been passionate about roses since the beginning of time. In fact, it is said that the floors of Cleopatra's palace were carpeted with delicate rose petals, and that the wise and knowing Confucius had a 600 book library specifically on how to care for roses.

Wherefore art thou rose? In the readings of Shakespeare, of course. He refers to roses more than 50 times throughout his writings. 1,000 years old. That's the age the world's oldest living rose is thought to be. Today it continues to flourish on the wall of the Hildesheim Cathedral in Germany.

The rose is a legend in it's own. The story goes that during the Roman empire, there was an incredibly beautiful maiden named Rhodanthe. Her beauty drew many zealous suitors who pursued her relentlessly. Exhausted by their pursuit, Rhodanthe was forced to take refuge from her suitors in the temple of her friend Diana. Unfortunately, Diana became jealous. And when the suitors broke down her temple gates to get near their beloved Rhodanthe, she also became angry turning Rhodanthe into a rose and her suitors into thorns.

A rose by any other name... according to Greek Mythology, it was Aphrodite who gave the rose its name.

Leave it to the romantic French to be the ones to first deliver roses. It was in the seventeenth century that French explorer Samuel deChamplain brought the first cultivated roses to North America.

The Red Rose Society was founded in 1999, providing a unique place for all lovers of roses to visit and join from all over the world! Roses are truly ageless. Recently, archaeologists discovered the fossilized remains of wild roses over 40 million years old. The people of ancient Greece used roses to accessorize. On festive occasions they would adorn themselves with garlands of roses, and splash themselves with rose-scented oil.

The first true primary red rose seen in Europe was 'Slater's Crimson China,' introduced in 1792 from China, where it had been growing wild in the mountains. Immediately, rose breeders began using it to hybridize red roses for cultivation. Ever since, the quest for the elusive perfect red rose has been the Holy Grail of rosarians: a fragrant, disease-resistant, long-lasting, long-stemmed, reblooming, perfectly formed rose with clear non-fading vivid red color. Absolute perfection still hasn't been attained, and of course never will!

Napoleon's wife Josephine so adored roses, she grew more than 250 varieties.

The Rose is the flower of love. It was created by Chloris, the Greek goddess of flowers, but of a lifeless body of a nymph which she found one day in a clearing in the woods. She asked the help of Aphrodite, the goddess of love, who gave her beauty; Dionysus, the god of wine, added nectar to give her a sweet scent, and the three Graces gave her charm, brightness and joy. Then Zephyr, the West Wind, blew away the clouds so that Apollo, the sun god, could shine and make the flower bloom. And so the Rose was born and was immediately crowned Queen of the Flowers." Quoted from Pickles, Sheila. The Language of Flowers (New York: Harmony Books, 1989).

Clay tablets excavated in the temples of Ur in Iraq speak of the delivery of rose water intended for the sultan of Bagdad. The sultan used no fewer than 30,000 jars of rose water a year, to make his rooms smell nice for his extensive harem.
 
The Saracen general Saladin sent camel caravans loaded with rose water through his empire to cleanse the mosques after 'impure' crusaders had occupied the prayer rooms.

Until the early 19th century dried rose petals were believed to have mysterious powers. Napoleon gave his officers bags of rose petals to boil in white wine, to cure lead poisoning from bullet wounds, Even today, rose water is still used to refresh the hands before a feast or festive greeting, from the Middle East to northern India.

There is a special rose language invented as a secret means of communication between lovers who were not allowed to express their love for one another openly in the harems of the Middle East. In the mid 18th century Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, the wife of the British ambassador in Constantinople, described this in her letters, which were published after her death. These letters inspired many books on the language of flowers, each describing the secret message hidden in each flower. A red rose bud stands for budding desire, while an open white rose asks "WIll you love me?". An open red rose means "I'm full of love and desire", while an open yellow rose asks "Don't you love me any more?".

You might want to try conveying your message of love by a beautiful, fragrant bouquet of roses. Watch for more tips from Rose Farm Buy Farm Fresh Grower Direct. More Links for Rose Farm > or Visit Here

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Roses in the New World

by Charlie Farricielli from Rose Farm Buy Farm Fresh Grower Direct 

Of the 200 species of Wild Roses know worlkdwide, about 35 are considered indigenous to the Unites State , which makes the rose a American as apple pie. The first American species mentioned in European texts was R. virginiana; notable other species are R. Carolina, the ‘Pasture Rose’, R. setigera, the ‘Praire Rose’, R. California, R woodsii and R. palustris, the ‘Swamp Rose’. Several of these are named after their naturally selected habitat. Captain John Smith wrote about the Indians of the James River Valley who planted Wild Roses to adorn their village surroundings. In 1621, Edward Winslow, a founder of the Plymouth Colony, planted lots of fragrant white, red and Damask Roses.

Modern Roses

In 1867, the French breeder Guillot introduced a medium pink variety called ‘La France ’. This variety was considered unique in that it possessed the general habit of a Hygrid Perpetual (Mme Victor Verdier’, its seed parent) as well as the elegantly shaped buds and free-flowering character of a Tea Rose (Mme Bravy’, the pollen parent). Recognition that “La France ’ demonstrated a new group was delayed for almost thirty years of acrimonious discussion in the popular horticultural magazine of the era. Gardener’s Chronicle. Nevertheless, the first Hybrid Tea had been born! Although technical difficulties hindered the direct mimicking of Guillot’s work, practical experience over the following twenty years finally resolved the problems and rapid expansion of the Hybrid Tea class with different colors and foliage took place. Hybrid Teas, now known as Large-flowered Roses, quickly replaced Hybrid Perpetuals in popularity in gardens all over Europe and America . Planned breeding has now developed over 10,000 Hybrid Teas that demonstrate a wide range of color and blends and even stripes!

You might want to try conveying your message of love by a beautiful, fragrant bouquet of roses. Watch for more tips from Rose Farm Buy Farm Fresh Grower Direct. More Links for Rose Farm > or Visit Here

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by Charlie Farricielli from Rose Farm Buy Farm Fresh Grower Direct 

THE ROSE IN HISTORY

As with most plants that have long been closely associated with the history of people, the rose has become deeply ingrained in our culture and beliefs. The Romans, who originally cultivated the rose as a medicinal plant, also used the blooms to enhance their festivities.

The Greeks, however, accepted the rose as a complement to the progress of their culture. Whenever a secret meeting was held, the Greeks used roses to decorate the ceilings of their conference rooms. This indicated that everything discussed was confidential, which is the origin of the phrase sub rosa.

In fifteenth century England , roses were chosen to represent the two rival royal factions: the white rose of the House of York and the red rose of the House of Lancaster. The heraldic Tudor Rose emerged as the emblem of royalty. More recently, roses have been used as motifs to further the aspirations of political parties and national sporting teams.

Evolution of the Rose

Throughout the history of civilization, no other flower has been so immortalized and integrated into daily life as the rose. From poetry to music, from festivities to wars, Mother’s Day to St Valentine’s Day, and birth to death, the rose has held a unique role.

There are over 4000 roses listed in this monograph, and they are testimony enough to convince even the ultimate skeptic that roses have a rich tapestry of evolution stretching way back in time. Just how the genus Rosa managed to, and continues to, evolve into one of the world’s favorite flowers is an interesting horticultural puzzle. To fully appreciate the development of roses up to the present day, a brief exploration of the early history of roses before 1800 is needed.

Roses in Antiquity

Fossil remains found on a slate deposit in Colorado indicates that roses estimated 40 million years ago in North America . Other important fossil findings through the Northern Hemisphere have confirmed the very ancient existence of roses growing as far north as Alaska and Norway and as far south as Mexico . No Wild Roses have been found to grow below the equator, although roses now thrive in the Southern Hemisphere thanks to the deliberate intervention of civilization.

Where or when the genus Rosa originated is unknown in spite of the wealth of fossil studies. In theory, the early Wild Roses were most likely cultivated for their hips, which have some nutritional properties, as were their close relatives, the cherries, plums and apples. Most of these early species roses were five-petalled, pink or white with some yellows from China . As civilizations developed trade, accidental crosses of there early species started the evolutionary process as they were grown along side each other.

Mention of roses appeared frequently in the written records of early civilizations, such as those of the Chinese, Egyptians, Greeks, Phoenicians and Romans. In 500 BC, Confucius wrote about the roses growing in the Imperial Rose Garden of the Chinese Emperor, Who also had an extensive library of books about roses. It is from such writings that we can glean a picture of rose distribution and cultivation.

The oldest rose we can identify today is Rosa gallica , which gives very fragrant flowers of deep pink to crimson followed by brick red, sub-globose or turbine hops. The exact geographical origin of R. gallica is unknown, but there are references to it by the Persians in the twelfth century BC; they regarded it as a strong symbol of love and commitment. The next identifiable rose was the very fragrant R. damasccena, which appeared in descriptive texts around 900 BC. In 50 BC a northern African variant called R. damascena semperflorens, the’Autumn Damask’. Captivated the Romans for its ability to give two bloom cycles instead of just one.

Traced back to the fifth century BC, it is believed to have resulted from a cross between R. gallica and T. moschata (the musk rose). Until the discovery and importation of China roses from the Orient in the late eighteenth century, R damascena semperflorens was the only repeat-bloomers known to the Western world.

Another rose of great historical importance was the Alba Rose, ‘White Rose of York’, the emblem of the great House of York during the fifteenth century Wars of the Roses. R. alba is probably a lot older, dating back to as early as the second century AD. In early European times, the evolution of the rose had reached a well-defined, simple family tree, which had five distinctive Old Garden Rose classiciations: Gallica, Alba, Damask, Centifolia and Moss.

Next Time Roses in the New World: You might want to try conveying your message of love by a beautiful, fragrant bouquet of roses. Watch for more tips from Rose Farm Buy Farm Fresh Grower Direct. More Links for Rose Farm > or Visit Here

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Rose Farm Buy Farm Fresh Grower Direct | Flower Delivery | Send Roses | Send Flowers | Yellow Roses 

The Last Fifty Years by Charlie Farricielli from Rose Farm Buy Farm Fresh Grower Direct 

The early 1950s was a decisive time in the history of the rose. Gardening for leisure, rather than for food, became increasingly popular, and this coincided with the release of a new rose variety called ‘Peace’. It is difficult to convey the impact this rose had on gardeners-simply put, everybody was growing it! ‘Peace’ almost single-handedly advanced the popularity of the rose out of all proportion to any other garden plant.

In the last decade there have been many new schools of thought on the role of the rose in the garden. No longer are we subjected to endless formal flowerbeds solely devoted to this single genus. It is not that gardeners have lost their appreciation of these superb blooms, rather it is that they have discovered how wonderful roses can look when grown informally among other plants such as clematis, honeysuckles, delphiniums, lavender, spring bulbs and geraniums.

Although disease still rears its ugly head on certain occasion, the rose has become a much more adaptable plant; varieties are available that can be grown as shrubs, climbers, ground covers or in pots. Nowadays, the rose has a place in every garden, even the smallest back yard, and it is telling that the Patio Rose Sweet Dream is one of the best-selling roses today.

Next Time THE ROSE IN HISTORY : You might want to try conveying your message of love by a beautiful, fragrant bouquet of roses. Watch for more tips from Rose Farm Buy Farm Fresh Grower Direct. More Links for Rose Farm > or Visit Here

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East Meets West by Charlie Farricielli from Rose Farm Buy Farm Fresh Grower Direct 

The introduction of roses from the Far East coincided rather neatly with the advent of modern breeding techniques. Although the sexual function of the flower, in particular the function of the anthers and stigma had been revealed in the seventeenth century, this discovery was not used in practical plant breeding for another two hundred years before this time, ‘primitive’ rose breeders would place two distinct varieties in pots together when both were in full bloom; they knew that there was a reasonable chance that the plants would cross-breed and produce seedlings with shared characteristics of the two parents.

In the early part of the nineteenth century, hybridists, primarily French amateurs, began a planned breeding program with very gratifying results. This was quickly followed up with some enthusiasm by rose-growing devotees all around the world. Soon, rose breeding without first planning the parentage became unthinkable.

The subsequent g=progeny produced were identified by groups usually names after their town or country of origin, the hybridist and, in some cases, a wealthy patron. Thus, collective terms such as Bourbons, Noisettes, Hybrid Perpetuals and Portlands came into existence with varying degrees of success. Eventually, the collective term Hybrid Teas was coined; 1867 is the date usually quoted when this modern group became a recognizable entity. Since that time, Hybrid Teas (also known as Large-flowered Roses), have progressed from strength to strength.

Next Time The Last Fifty Years : You might want to try conveying your message of love by a beautiful, fragrant bouquet of roses. Watch for more tips from Rose Farm Buy Farm Fresh Grower Direct. More Links for Rose Farm > or Visit Here

keywords: flowers, Roses, flower delivery, send roses, send flowers, yellow roses