The Krasberg Rose Garden is naturally romantic. As with fine wines, the descriptive words for roses are rich and varied. Among the 5,000-plus rose bushes planted are some that speak the language of love through their names.
In Victorian times, red roses said “love,” pink roses said “like,” and yellow roses said “friend me”—or close enough.
Some roses speak of love through scent. American historian Alice Morse Earle writes the following in “Old Time Garden”: “The fragrance of the sweetest rose is beyond any other flower scent, it is irresistible, enthralling; you cannot leave it.” Breathe deeply, and perhaps you’ll detect myrrh, musk, apple, cinnamon, grape, damask, lemon, vanilla, pepper, pine…and, of course, tea, one of the richest of rose scents.
Is there a more beautiful background than the Rose Garden? Two-thirds of visitors take photos here.
Finally, some roses have romantic stories to tell. The Portland rose (Rosa ‘Comte de Chambord’) was a gift to the Empress Josephine, who established the greatest rose garden of its time at Malmaison. The cabbage rose (Rosa x centifolia), known as the “100-petaled rose,” is a beloved subject and symbol in Dutch still-life paintings. Autumn Damask rose (Rosa ‘Autumn Damask’), is an Old Garden Rose with a 3,000-year-old connection to the cult of Aphrodite, the goddess of love.
Take an evening stroll through the roses, and find romance in the Rose Garden.
©2014 Chicago Botanic Garden and my.chicagobotanic.org
This was just beautiful. I love roses and esp. the old ones. Non of which I have!! Only the new ones as they are less work, but less beautiful smelling! Thanks for sending/sharing.
Thanks for writing–the Rose Garden is looking particularly lovely on this sunny day!
I love Roses