Plants from the Past - Deb Goodenough
Isle of Wight Gardens Trust - February, 1998.
Rosa rosa rosa est est
(A rose is a rose is a rose)
Or is it? Seldom is there a garden, be it small and domestic or large and public that hasn't grown a rose of some sort or other. It is a genus of plant that compares only to orchids in the mania to collect and grow them. In this we do not differ much from our ancestors, as roses appear to have been cultivated for the past 4000 years if not more.
Fossil records show that species have been on Earth for at least the past 35 million years; in man's short time span on Earth we have used roses medicinally, cosmetically, religiously, artistically and symbolically; therefore intense cultivation has occurred with exacting requirements to meet the demands. The powerful symbolism which the rose has held for millennia is intriguing. Book upon book has been written on this vast subject but to briefly touch on it may whet your appetite to research further.
Once archaeologists began to research the detritus amongst their digs particularly in ancient Egypt, Greece and Persia, they realized that the rose listed highly amongst the plant remains found. In baskets, tombs or houses, roses were evident. There was other evidence which denoted the importance of the rose: It is believed that the Island of Rhodes was named after the Greek nymph Rhode whose symbol was the rose. Rhodo is the Greek for rose; this may be confusing in regards to Rhododendron, an unrelated genera to Rosa, but in botanical nomenclature it means rhodo = rose-flowered, dendron = tree. Rhodology is the study of the rose, not rhododendrons. Frescos dating back to 1450 BC in Crete depict the first painted rose showing that it was significant in the culture then. The Iliad (11thC BC) refers to rose oil for medicinal and funereal purposes. The symbolism can only be assumed in these cases, but as time progressed to the early Greeks in the 6th C so, translations reflect the rose's symbolism; rose wreaths in some parts were worn by virgins to show their innocence and purity; in other areas of Greece, the same rose wreaths were associated with drinking and feasting. The rose reached its excessive peak in Roman times when its production competed with corn: the decadence to have feasts where the guests waded through a foot of fresh rose petals illustrates this. Aphrodite, the god of love, used both the white and red rose to depict the duality of love; a white rose to signify purity and innocence and the red for desire and sexual gratification. Eros in mythology has long been linked with the rose to symbolise love, desire and beauty: The story goes that Eros shot Flora with one of his arrows and she, overcome with love was unable to pronounce his name in full and just murmured 'rose'. One interesting rose symbolism used by the Romans gave us the phrase sub rosa = under the rose; when roses were painted or carved on a ceiling this represented secrecy, anything said or done in the room whilst drunk or sober would be considered confidential. To the Persians, the rose was a symbol for life itself; its beauty representing the perfection we should strive for, its thorns depicting the difficulties we all come against to achieve the perfection, the recurrent blooming showing us our efforts should be continuous, with the flower confirming to us that we will in the end succeed. This was a more reverent symbolism than the Romans saw in the rose.
In the Middle Ages as Christianity became more prevalent, the rose waned in its symbolic form, as it was tainted with the reputation of the Romans. This was not for long, as Christianity realized it was important for its followers to have strong symbols to represent its ideals. The rose became the symbol of the Mother of God representing love, beauty, pain, martyrdom and death. One also finds the rose used as a strong symbol among the Persians and Muslim Arabs who intensely cultivated it; when the Crusades began, the rose was one prize brought back to Europe and its revival instigated. The rose is again symbolised in Christianity by the rosary which originally referred to an enclosed garden dedicated to the Virgin Mary; it later came to refer to the string of beads (possibly initially made from dried rose hips or carved from rose wood) used for counting prayers.
By the 15th C the rose as a religious symbol became secularised and again became a symbol of human love but also of kingly power. This is best represented in the War of the Roses with the white rose of York and the red rose of Lancaster united as the Tudor Rose (a small white rose upon a red) which is still the badge of the royal houses of England. The rose in Europe reached its plateau with Empress Josephine at Malmaison when rose hybridisation introduced many new varieties. The rose to the Victorians still symbolised love, but its varying colours spoke individually in the language of flowers: i.e. a yellow rose indicated "a decrease in love", whilst a white meant "I am worthy of you".
Rose breeding has not decreased today, and neither has its symbolism. It still represents many of the old meanings such as love at Valentine's, motherhood on Mothering Sunday, purity in children's fairy tales, strength of the royal house plus emblems for tourism, sporting endeavours, political parties and so onsets powerful image has not diminished. A book which is very readable, informative and useful for identification of many old and modern roses, is The Quest for the Rose, by Roger Phillips and Martyn Rix; pick it up and it is hard to put down. Extremely well illustrated
To pick one out Of the many species and cultivars, I've chosen one long-time favourite amongst gardeners which in the Language of Flowers represents "variety". Rosa gallica "Versicolor" or better known as Rosa "Mundi" is a striped colour sport of the Red or Apothecaries' Rose, Rosa gallica 'Officinalis' which was used medicinally and as a confection since before 1400AD in northern Europe. Legend holds that it was named after Fair Rosamund, mistress of Henry II but the true origin is not known. It is often confused with the York and Lancaster rose which differs botanically and in its style of variegation. Dating back to the 16th C, it has survived the test of time growing as a suckering shrub to 1 m which lends itself to the cottage garden fraternity. It requires little attention, thriving on poor soil although not tolerating shade. It offers a showy profusion of scented semi-double blossoms in summer, often throwing several pure red flowers which add to its interest and charm. Its only drawback is that it can suffer from mildew.
September 10, 1999