Our roses have really been magnificent this year. I have nine different varieties planted around the gate to our backyard. Three on the trellis on the side of the garage, and six on the side of the house. One of my neighbors said it's like walking into a fantasy land!
I've always loved roses. When I was growing up my father, who was (what they would call today) a master gardener, had an amazing rose garden in our front and a vegetable garden in the backyard that was so big and picture perfect, people use to stop and photograph it. In my childhood rose garden it seemed like there were always plants in bloom and it was one of my jobs to go outside and deadhead the plants. Plucking off the bloom that have died insured that the plant would keep blooming. And boy did they keep blooming!
Historically the rose, along with the lily and lotus, is considered to be a sacred flower. The scent is said to elevate the senses. Roses are also said to have cleansing properties and attract angels.
I wrote an article for my blogs recently on Sacred Flowers. Here is the section on roses:
"The importance of the rose pervades all cultures and religious beliefs. It is the most common symbol of love, particularly if the color is red, and of all offerings made in love that are pure. Love symbolized by the red rose continues to survive in our present culture demonstrated every day through the act of giving roses as a special gift.
Love is not the only the only symbolic meaning of this beautiful flower, however. It also represents perfection, beauty, renewal and the triumph of spirit over matter as the rose bursts open...out of the muddy earth. Because of its perfection and beauty roses are also a symbol of purity.
Spiritually, the rose is a natural mandala (circle or wheel). The petals form a perfectly symmetrical circle around a yellow center, which is evocative of the Sun. The Rosy Cross of the Rosicrucian Order has a rose at its intersection. Here the rose symbolizes the heart, life and life's mystery. Roses have also been long associated with Mary, the mother of Jesus. Rose windows that adorn cathedrals and churches are her symbol. In India, the Great Mother was called Holy Rose."
~ diane fergurson
