Roses are red, but not often blue... plant a few now or bid them adieu
With the nation’s favourite flower now under threat, a new campaign and an exhibition celebrate their enduring beauty
THE nation’s once favourite flower is beginning to lose its place in our hearts. Sales of rose bushes have withered from 65 million in the 1960s to a measly five million last year. Having survived 40 million years on the planet, during which time 30,000 varieties have evolved or been developed, roses face a thorny future, innocent victims of indifference as millennials especially seek out “more exciting” plants for their balconies or gardens.
“Roses are vanishing from our public parks and gardens and people are taking them for granted,” warns horticulturist David Domoney, star of ITV’s Love Your Garden.
“Young people see them as oldfashioned, rather twee, and what their grandparents grew. So it’s time we stood up for the rose and appreciated its versatility – its beauty, its use in perfumes, health treatments and even food.”
David is so worried about the future of the rose he will issue a call to arms at the Chelsea Flower Show later this month, urging people to get planting.
He’s also backing Rose Awareness Week in June. As the campaign to restore the plants to national glory gathers pace, a timely exhibition showcasing the power and beauty of the rose in fashion and culture has been unveiled at the Garden Museum in central London.
Wild & Cultivated: Fashioning The Rose is a collaboration between Simon Costin, a set designer who worked with the late fashion icon Alexander McQueen, and Amy de la Haye, a professor of dress history.
GARDEN Museum curator Emma House is delighted to showcase their exhibition at a seemingly critical time in the evolution of roses. “The stories of the decline of roses are concerning, so this is a particularly good time to celebrate a flower which has played such a big part in art, clothing design, poetry and everyday life,” she explains. “There is no room for complacency.”
Costin and de la Haye believe roses are the most “sublimely beautiful and fragrant” of flowers.
In ancient Egypt, people started using wild roses to adorn their bodies. Delicate petals were charred to darken brows.
And in ancient Rome, warriors used perfume made from roses to make them smell sweeter in battle. Garlands and wreaths of roses were presented to those who had shown particular manly valour.
In Mesopotamia (Kuwait and Iraq), Iranian and Turkish roses were used as a medicine and in certain dishes to add flavour, and were probably grown for pleasure as far back as 2,700 BC.
It’s thought the Chinese started cultivating roses as early as 500 BC.
An exhibit at the Garden Museum is thought to hold the clue to our association of red roses and romantic love. It features a nightingale trapped in a spiral of rose bush thorns, and is based on a story by Oscar Wilde in which the “necklace” of thorns was intended to inflict pain on the wearer to mirror the pain suffered by a nightingale as she sang through the night, despite having her breast pierced by a rose thorn. “Wilde’s story draws upon an ancient Persian narrative in which the blood of the Nightingale turns a white rose red,” says Costin, who lent the piece. “It is generally believed that the association of the red rose with love stems from this narrative.”
In the 1840s, post-mortem photographic portraits in black and white were common as it was thought they were vital remembrances of loved ones. One image from this time shows a deceased woman lying in her finest black dress with a red rose painted on the picture, which was a common practice. By the mid 19th century, France led the way in using roses in fashion. Women started adding roses to elaborate hats, giving them an explosion of colour.
In 1867, what we still term the “modern” rose arrived. It was a cross between a tea rose and a hybrid and was named La France. Characterised by a single, fragrant bloom per stem it was an overnight success when it was brought to Britain and is still popular today.
By the 1870s, Britain had become the world leader in rose growing with enthusiasts throwing rose-themed parties. Ladies’ fans were decorated with roses and rose perfumes were concealed in their handles.
To mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, the exhibition’s sponsors, David Austin Roses, have introduced a new variety, Elizabeth, and another, called Bring Me Sunshine, which pays homage to the comedy duo Morecambe andWise.
Over six decades the company has introduced more than 200 English varieties.
“The embodiment of beauty, charm, abundant colour and delicious fragrance, it is little wonder that roses have been adopted across all facets of popular culture, from art and design to literature, fashion and beyond,” says director Richard Austin.
‘In ancient Rome, warriors wore rose perfume to make them smell sweeter in battle’
One of Domoney’s two daughters, AliceRose, is named after the flower. He says: “I have always enjoyed the beauty of the rose, having worked for two rose growers in the past and created many rose gardens myself.
“One of these was at the RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show but my favourite was in my own garden. I’m keen to spread the love of roses and they’re a wonderful plant that can be enjoyed by all ages.
“I’ve seen roses growing in the bitter cold and have also seen them blooming in the blistering heat of Kitchener’s Garden in Egypt, which shows me the true versatility of this unique plant.”
David says the pandemic kindled an interest in gardening among younger generations and believes post-lockdown is the ideal time to refocus on the nation’s favourite.
He says: “The timing of the Garden Museum exhibition of roses and fashion coincides with celebrations of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, which Harkness Roses are commemorating with The Queen Elizabeth II rose.
“As Britain’s longest reigning monarch, the occasion is being marked by a magnificent bloom with a strong sweet scent.
“I truly believe there is a rose for every garden. Incredibly versatile and with many types to choose from, any space can benefit from the beauty of a rose. “Climbing and rambling roses can turn a wall into a fantastic living feature, whilst shrub roses can brighten up a border. “For smaller spaces, patio roses mean you don’t need to compromise. It’s not only the classic flowers that can be appreciated, but the wonderful fragrance that comes with them. Their usefulness doesn’t stop in the garden, as they can be used as cut flowers to bring joy inside, or even made into tea.”
David White, managing director of Harkness Roses, which is supporting the campaign, says: “When I was a boy, roses were seen in public parks and gardens everywhere, but over the years their reputation has gone down as people think they are too difficult to grow and you have to go on a three-day pruning course to look after them, but the new varieties are so easy to grow.
“Young gardeners don’t want to spend months tending their garden, they just want an instant garden that can be an outdoor room to their home and roses are ideal and great value.
“A typical plant costs £15 that will give 100 flowers a year for 15 years, which works out at one penny a flower.”
Fashion designer Alexander McQueen, who died in 2010, was often described as a rosarian because of his love for its blooms, and the exhibition includes a rose-themed dress – covered in polychrome silk roses clustered beneath the brim of a hat (millinery by Philip Treacy).
The dress features rose petals seemingly scattered and cascading down the body and the formation of the padded skirt is itself rose like.
There is also an extraordinary McQueen dress called Hybrid Rose, which has a silk satin black rose peplum. However, in nature there is no such thing as a black rose. Often described as black, they are in reality deep purple, maroon or red. However, since the 19th century, artificial black roses were often worn for mourning. Black roses have now acquired a glamorous allure.
Likewise, blue roses do not naturally exist, but have been created through genetic engineering and selective breeding.
Ever since the Wars of the Roses (145585) roses have been associated with battles and heraldic imagery.
The white rose of York and the red rose of Lancaster were potent symbols in their day. They were brought together to form the Tudor rose, which consists of five white inner petals, representing the House of York, and five outer petals to represent the House of Lancaster.
Even in those bloody times, the rose came to symbolise hope for the future.
Now lovers of this most beautiful flower want to make sure it has a, well, rosy future for centuries to come.
●Wild & Cultivated: Fashioning The Rose runs at the Garden Museum, London, until June 19 supported by David Austin Roses. For more information and booking, visit gardenmuseum.org.uk