The concept, history and types of roses

There is no doubt that roses are one of the most popular and oldest flowers and the most well-known among the people of Iran and around the world.
Rose also has one of the most diverse families among flowers, including shrub, hedge, miniature, mountain, cluster and even ground. Each of these has its own different types. For this reason, we decided to write the history of roses and the meaning of roses and the types of roses for you.

History of Roses

Rose has a rich and long history. Fossils from North America, Europe, and Asia have been found that roses are 35 million years old.In China, roses have a 5,000-year-old history of cultivation, and have been cultivated by humans since then. However, they were not introduced to Europe until the 18th century, which is where most roses originate.
In 107 AD, a rose wreath was found in a tomb that is considered the oldest type of rose still in existence today. But the oldest surviving rose bush is now on the wall of Hildesheim Cathedral in Germany.

Flowers on the wall of Hildesheim Cathedral in Germany

Natural roses only came in pink and white, but China had roses that were yellow, and Chinese gardeners spent many years trying to make yellow roses stronger and more durable. Now, centuries later, roses are available in a rainbow of colors in florists.

Roses and the Romans

The Romans were so fond of roses during their empire that people tended to grow roses instead of food crops.

The Romans used rose petals for feasts, perfume, and medicine. They even filled the floors of halls with rose petals, believing that this would increase sexual desire and fertility. This interest was so great that the wealthy and affluent Roman elite even filled their bathrooms with roses. The history of roses says that they initially imported various types of roses from Egypt, but after a while they built greenhouses to have more and more accessible roses. The custom of placing red roses on the graves of lovers and placing roses on the graves of young girls began in Roman times. After the fall of the Roman Empire, the traditions of the rose fell into the hands of its breeders and changed greatly over time.

History of the Rose in the Greeks

In ancient Greece, the land of legends, roses were also particularly popular. They believed that the rose was created in this way.

Chloris (goddess of flowers); created the rose. Aphrodite (goddess of love); named it. Dionysus (goddess of wine); gave it nectar and a pleasant aroma. Three sisters; They gave the rose joy, happiness and pleasure. Zephyr (goddess of the winds); drove away the clouds. Apollo (goddess of the sun); shone on the rose and a flower grew from it. And thus the rose was created. The Greeks even named an island after the rose: the Greek island of Rhodes, meaning rose. The history of the rose in Europe is a little different in Europe! In the 15th century in England, two dynasties fought for the throne: the House of York and the House of York. and the other was “Lancaster. The symbol of the Yorkists was the white rose and the symbol of the Lancastrians was the red rose. That is why these wars are known as the « Wars of the Roses »!

Wars of the Roses

In Europe in the 17th century, roses were so popular that they were sometimes used as money in the exchange of goods for goods. It was quite common for people to pay their taxes to the court by sending roses or rose water. English priests filled the gardens of their churches with red roses because they believed that roses were the blood of Jesus Christ, and that when Jesus was crucified, roses were shed on the ground instead of blood. And the five petals of a rose symbolize the five wounds of Christ.
In churches, gardens were decorated with many roses, and church windows had rose motifs.

In France, Napoleon's wife Josephine was also very interested in botany and was a rose lover. After her divorce, she went to the Malmaison Palace and started cultivating various types of roses there. She built large rose gardens that contained over 250 types of roses.
The famous painting "The Rose" by Peter Joseph Redoute is located here.