April; For the Love of Roses;

Apricot Nectar;

. Apricot Nectar, Floribunda, bred by Eugene S. "Gene" Boerner (United States, before 1964). 

Apricot or apricot blend.  Strong, fruity fragrance.  Average diameter Very large, double (17-25 petals), cluster-flowered, in small clusters, cupped bloom form.  Blooms in flushes throughout the season.  

Tall, bushy.  Glossy, dark green foliage.  

Height 60 to 120 cm.  Width 60 to 90 cm.

Can be used for beds and borders, cut flower or garden.  In warmer climates, cut back the remaining canes by about one-third. In colder areas, you'll probably find you'll have to prune a little more than that.  Requires spring freeze protection ) .  Can be grown in the ground or in a container.

For me one of the best, I have grown for many years. In winter I make cuttings, they take readily and flower already in the first year.

Roses
by George Eliot
You love the roses- so do I.
I wish
The sky would rain down roses, as they rain
From off a shaken bush. Why will it not?
Then all the valley would be pink and white
And soft to tread on. They would fall as light
As feathers, smelling sweet; and it would be
Like sleeping and like waking, all at once!

There are millions and millions of roses that are sold each year throughout the world. The biggest days for roses are Mother’s Day,  and Valentine’s Day. 

Rose hips, the fruit of the rose are full of  vitamin C. Rose hips are popular for a lovely flavoured dark pink tea or a conserve. The rose petals are also edible and have flavours like green apple and strawberries.  The rose family includes pears, apples, cherries, plums, peaches, and much more.

The oldest roses in recorded history are painted on a fresco at the palace of King Minos, who in Greek mythology was the king of Crete.
The first written records that mention roses are from the Sumerians of Mesopotamia, about 5000 B.C.

The Greek historian Herodotus, 485-425 B.C., mentioned King Midas took roses with him when he moved to Macedonia.  

 "The Iliad"  tells that Achilles carried a shield decorated with roses, and that Hector's body was anointed in rose oil. 

The Romans and the early Greeks worshipped the rose, using it to carpet the floor during important banquets.  

The Greek philosopher Theophrastus, 372-286 B.C., recorded that roses could be propagated by seeds, stem cuttings or buds.  

Wreaths of Damask-like roses have been found in Egyptian tombs.  Egyptian artefacts date the use of roses for decoration and ceremony to 1500 B.C.  

The garden roses of the most ancient times in Europe and the Mediterranean were  Damasks, the Gallicas, and the Albas. The Persians found a way of extracting the pure rose oil from the Damasks, today there are distilleries devoted to that same process. 

 In another part of the world, the Chinese philosopher Confucius, 551-479 B.C., recorded the existence of at least 600 books on roses in the Imperial Museum.

The rose continues with the Crusaders.  They brought back many species to Europe from their travels to the east. 

The early tea roses were transported from China to Europe by the tea clippers from India.

Two  areas had the greatest impact on rose history: 

the European/Mediterranean group and the Oriental group. 

The European roses are primarily the following: 

 Gallicas, Albas, Damasks, Centifolias, and Mosses.  

The Orientals are Chinas and Teas.  

The Europeans for the most part, have only one season of blooms per year, while the Orientals repeat bloom. 

 After  years of intense experimentation and crossing, in the 1840's it all resulted in a new group called the hybrid perpetuals, which were hardy, repeat blooming and diverse in color and form.   This group of roses, which included reblooming, hardy plants, overwhelmed the older roses, and interest in the ancient roses waned. 

The search to widen the range of hybrids continued and the Bourbon rose was crossed with the eastern teas, producing a plant called Hybrid Teas, the results of which were hardy repeat bloomers.

It continued through the 1900's and on into the 21st century:  the cultivation, the hybridization, the experimentation, until now we have so many to choose from.  

Believe it or not; The rose is the most popular flower today.

© Pictures/Text Ts