7 February is Rose Day. And no, I didn’t just forget the é. It is the start of Valentine’s week and therefore a day celebrating the rose flower rather than the rose-coloured wine. With two very special roses in our family, I am very aware that the rose is much more than just a romantic symbol, but what really sets roses apart from other flowers?
Flowers with a history and a future
Roses are the oldest species of plant to be grown for decoration purposes, says the Guinness Book of Records. Ancient Romans grew them in plantations and even hothouses to ensure a constant supply for decoration, cooking ingredients and medicinal extracts. There is evidence that rose gardens existed in China and Japan 5000 years ago and according to Theophrastus (382-287 BC) roses were cultivated in ancient Greece. (Read more)
Roses can also live for a long time with the oldest living rose on the walls of the Hildesheim Cathedral in Germany being 1000 years old, even surviving the bombardment of the cathedral in 1945.
Popular perfume
Rose oil has been used in the perfume industry for centuries. The scent originates from the microscopic perfume glands on the petals and about 2000 roses are required to produce only one gram of oil. No wonder perfume comes at the price it does. Most of the world’s rose oil comes from Bulgaria! Bulgarian rose oil, also known as “liquid gold,” is primarily produced in the Valley of Roses, between the Balkan and Sredna Gora mountains where the climate and soil are ideal for the growing of Rosa damascena, the prized rose variety for oil. (Read more)
Meaning and medicine
Rosehip, the rose bush’s berry-shaped fruit, is a rich source of vitamin C. Rose petals, rose hips and rose water are often used to soothe inflamed skin, as moisturisers and even to help treat colds, irritation in eyes and to treat wounds, sore throats and ulcers. Cold-pressed oil from rose hips is said to help reduce wrinkles too!
Roses are also medicine for the soul and traditionally there is a meaning in their colour. Red roses usually mean love and romance, pink symbolises grace and elegance, yellow indicates friendship, white roses are all about innocence and purity and orange about enthusiasm and energy. Black roses don’t have a meaning as they are actually just very dark red roses. Shades of mauve and lilac were introduced in the 1950s and 1960s as an unexpected result of breeding for vigour.
A national symbol
The rose is the national flower of the USA, declared as such by President Reagan in 1986. The Tudor rose is the national flower of England. Henry VII announced it as an emblem of peace at the end of the War of the Roses, the civil wars between the royal house of Lancashire, who wore a red rose, and the royal house of York, who wore white. The rose used by the England rugby team’s rose is a red hybrid tea rose created by the Harkness Rose Breeding program to celebrate the 150th anniversary of English rugby. The Maldives also has a rose as national flower, the pink plyantha rose, known locally as “Finifenmaa”.
Monetary Value
While orchids make out the biggest part of the top ten list of the most expensive flowers in the world, topped by a priceless cactus with an extremely short lifespan, Rose Juliet is second on the list. Debuted in 2006 at the Chelsea Flower Show, this beautiful apricot-hued rose was sold for $15.8 million!
Culinary Contribution
Roses also contribute on the culinary front. In wine, rosé is the French for pink and the reason why we call the wine rosé. In Spain it is called Rosado and Italy Rosato, also referencing the pink colour rather than the flower. Rose as a fragrance is sometimes used to describe the nose of red wines, but roses are better known in cooking. Classified as “herbs”, they can be used in a variety of ways. Rose petals are often used as decoration and to add a delicate floral flavour to dishes. Most often, however, rose flavour is added to dishes in the form of rose water, a by-product from the rose oil process and a clear liquid made from rose petals and water. Rose water is often used in recipes for sweets and desserts and is a regular flavouring in French cuisine. It is also used in condiments like vinegars and salad dressings as well as in tea and it is a popular ingredient in especially Middle Eastern and even Asian recipes.
All in the name
Roses are often named in honour of famous people and you can also commission a rose to be named after someone special. We all know about the Elizabeth Taylor rose, the Barbara Streisand rose and Nelson Mandela rose, but those who have visited La Motte Wine Estate in Franschhoek will also be familiar with the Hanneli Rupert rose. Welcoming guests to the estate with their charming shades of coral and subtle sweet perfume, they were named after the owner of the estate. This Hybrid Tea rose KORsebue is lush and untiring in producing straight cut flower stems with attractive, very firm petalled blooms and a deep, coral-orange on a cream-yellow base. More recently we have also added the Berdine rose, named after Hanneli’s daughter. With extraordinary vigour, it blooms in abundance with elegant, pointed buds in a subtle silver lilac turning into a soft magenta sheen in the sun.
Whether you add it to your cooking, find it in the nose of your favourite red wine, use it to decorate your home, adorn your garden or as a romantic gesture – either as a bunch or in naming your special someone – the rose truly is a versatile and special flower that does deserve its own day!
Featured image: Hanneli Rupert rose