Roses loved by Many

My dad was an avid gardener and loved to work in the garden, with flowers and other bushes and plants as well. One of my dad's last acts that also is a living tribute is the rose garden he planted for my mom before he got severely sick. My dad was a bad diabetic and in the end that was the root of what caused him to pass away so early in life. The rose garden remains as a remembrance of his love for both growing things and his family.

June is national rose month and also the month of my dad's birthday. Born June 1st 1944 my dad only lived to see his early 50s but had a very colorful life full of love. Roses also have had a colorful life as well as the symbol of love, beauty, war and politics. It was in November 1986 that President Ronald Reagan named the rose the emblem for the area where many ceremonies occurred at the White House.

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“Americans have always loved the flowers with which God decorates our land. More often than any other flower, we hold the rose dear as the symbol of life and love and devotion, of beauty and eternity. For the love of man and woman, for the love of mankind and God, for the love of country, Americans who would speak the language of the heart do so with a rose.
We see proof of this everywhere. The study of fossils reveals that the rose has existed in America for age upon age. We have always cultivated roses in our gardens. Our first President, George Washington, bred roses, and a variety he named after his mother is still grown today. The White House itself boasts a beautiful Rose Garden. We grow roses in all our fifty States. We find roses throughout our art, music, and literature. We decorate our celebrations and parades with roses. Most of all, we present roses to those we love, and we lavish them on our altars, our civil shrines, and the final resting places of our honored dead.
The American people have long held a special place in their hearts for roses. Let us continue to cherish them, to honor the love and devotion they represent, and to bestow them on all we love just as God has bestowed them on us.
The Congress, by Senate Joint Resolution 159 has designated the rose as the National Floral Emblem of the United States and authorized and requested the President to issue a proclamation declaring this fact.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, RONALD REAGAN, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim the rose as the National Floral emblem of the United States of America.”

The growing and caring for roses most likely started in China more than 5,000 years ago. Roses were used as confetti during celebrations in the Middle East. They were also used in medicines and perfumes. Roses gained even more popularity after the fall of the Roman empire.

A popular rose in England was the white rose. This rose was used to help control England as it was thought to symbolize York. The red rose in England was also part of the early conflicts in England. The red rose was used as the symbol of Lancaster. Thus the period became known as the "War of the roses"

Through the history of roses the demand was at times great. During the seventeenth century roses as well as rose water was thought to be considered royalty. During this time period the roses and water could be used to barter with and pay debts. One royal individual, the wife of Napoleon, was known to have an extensive collection of roses at an estate west of Paris. Eventually, cultivated roses became part of the landscape of Europe.



Today's gardening culture have even helped roses gain in more popularity. The shrub roses and old garden roses delight modern gardeners. The reason is because these roses are not as time demanding and are stronger against diseases as well as winter hardiness.

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