Spoil mom with roses
PERFECT BLOOM: THE BEST TRADITIONAL GIFT FOR MOTHER’S DAY
A home-made floral arrangement is so much more personal than one ordered from florist.
Roses are a traditional Mother’s Day gift but that doesn’t mean one needs to go the traditional route of a bunch of roses and chocolates. There are many other ways to make the day a rosy one, that includes tasty treats made from roses, rose perfumed pampering, fragrances for the home, rose inspired picnics, and, of course, the gift of a special rose bush.
Edible roses
At the rose farm we harvest rose hips and red, powerfully fragrant rose petals of “Mr Lincoln”, “Ecstasy”, “Oklahoma” and “Red ‘n Fragrant” grown on our farm. These roses give the distinct rose taste, fragrance and colour, which naturally occurs by stewing the petals.
The rose hips are used to make rose jam, rose-hip oil, honeybush and rose tea, rose flavoured vinegar and a rose liqueur.
The rose petals are used to make rose water, syrups, a crushed rose salt and rose-flavoured shortbread.
We also dry rose petals, for pot pourri and they have become a popular for confetti at weddings.
The goodness of rose hips and rose petals goes well beyond their fragrant flavour. Rose hips contain high levels of vitamin A, various B vitamins and vitamin C. In days gone by rose hip syrup was a nourishing drink for children and was used for gastric upsets and digestion.
Make the most of cut roses
Fresh cut roses never lose their appeal. My daughter Anja makes roses go further by adding foliage to an arrangement. She favours silvery leaves as well as herbs like basil, lavender, rosemary and Santolina. Ferns with soft feathery leaves look good too, especially with yellow, gold and orange roses.
A home-made floral arrangement is so much more personal than one ordered from the florist.
When cutting the stems for the vase, make a long slanted cut. The bigger the wound the more water the stems take up. Chrysal flower food is better than vinegar and sugar for extending the life of the flowers.
Change the water every two or three days.
The magic of mini roses
Pot roses have become a popular gift and lollypop rose standards (mini-standards) are a new introduction in supermarkets. Just the right size for small gardens and patios, they are budded onto the stem, like garden roses which makes them stronger growers than normal pot roses that are grown from cuttings.
The mini-standards can be planted into the garden or into medium sized pots. Those grown in pots do best placed to receive morning sun and afternoon shade. They need watering throughout winter, every second or third day depending on the pot size.
Long lasting garden roses
As far as I am concerned the best gift is a rose bush because it can last for up to 20 years, and won’t mind being moved if you move house.
Pink, rather than red, seems to
be the favoured colour for Mother’s Day probably because the colour pink is associated with appreciation, love, and gratitude.
One of the best garden cut roses is “Hestrie” named after our champion gold medal high jumper. The bush is tall and elegant and each bloom is a perfect shape and strong pink in colour. The blooms also last well in the vase.
Should mom prefer the old-fashioned nostalgia type rose with its full-petalled blooms, I would suggest the Antico-Moderno rose “Pompadour”. It is from the French rose breeder, Delbard, and the quartered rosette rose has a sumptuous perfume.
Contact Ludwig’s
Roses at 012-5440144 or email info@ ludwigsroses.co.za or visit www.ludwigsroses.co.za