Roses

 It is the month of love, of matters of the heart and I choose to celebrate by discussing one of my very favorite, most beloved plants, the Rose, Rosa spp.. I have 24 antique roses in my garden and I know all of them by name, their color, when they bloom and if they produce rose hips. Rose hips, by the way, are an excellent source of Vitamin C. You can drink a tea made from the hips or the hips can be made into syrup. I particularly enjoy a rose hips/chamomile tea, as it is tasty and restful.

Roses grow well in our Central Texas gardens with some nurturing and tender loving care. I have large rose bushes, climbing roses and small bushes in a variety of colors and fragrances. My specifications when purchasing a rose include a good, strong, delightful fragrance (as I make my own Rosewater), must bloom in spring and fall, and hopefully produces hips. These specifications can be difficult but I do have many roses that fulfill these special requirements. Antique roses are much easier to care for than hybrid roses, require less fertilizer and are more disease resistant. Valentine’s Day was the day to prune back your roses (approximately 1/3), fertilize well and sit back and enjoy a spectacular spring bloom. Climbing roses need to be cleaned up a bit but not pruned.

I use fresh rose petals in my Rosewater but I also frequently use dry rose blossoms in herbal steams and Miracle Grains (a facial cleanser). Fresh rose petals can be made in to a tasty tea and used as an astringent to help alleviate heavy bleeding. In Belize, the petals of red roses are frequently used during childbirth to control any hemorrhaging (Herbal Remedies of the Rainforest by Rosita Arvigo).

Roses speak the language of love and are frequently given to those we love and cherish. Roses signify romance and seduction. Cleopatra filled her boudoir with knee-deep rose petals when seducing Mark Anthony. In old-fashioned Tussie mussies, red roses signify everlasting love, pink roses signify sweet affection and white roses signify the purity of romantic love.

When planting your garden this spring, choose some roses for your enjoyment, medicinal benefits, cosmetic use and their sheer beauty. Remember they do need some special care but the rewards are ten fold. Happy February to my entire plant lover friends. Please check out my newsletter archive on my website to see some pictures of roses in my garden.