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Roses, more than any other flower, have always been used by poets and artists to enhance the meaning of their work; to recollect the pleasures of a garden or evoke an awareness of the brevity of life. There is a huge variety of roses in existence, and many have gradually made their appearance in European art.
Two roses pervaded the culture of medieval Europe and its paintings. The red Rosa gallica, symbol of lovers, and its natural opposite the white Rosa alba. In 15th Century art two sweet-smelling climbers appeared - the sweetbriar or eglantine and the oriental musk rose - and 17th Century still life painters added several more. Among these was the damask rose, well known in the classical world and described by the Romans as 'centifolia' because of its doubleness. The damask was valued above all others for perfume. It was outclassed in flower still lifes by a new hybrid Rosa centifolia, a deep pink cabbage rose with tightly massed petals, which lolls at the rim of almost every vase.
Another novelty was the golden yellow Rosa foetida, introduced because there were no yellow roses in the European stock. It was brought over from Persia, but is confusingly known as the Austrian briar because that was where it was first introduced.
A century later, in the 1720s, Jan van Huysum proudly added double yellow roses (Rosa hemisphaerica) to his paintings.
These rose varieties were multiplied by collectors such as the Empress Josephine, and the next revolution came with the introduction of Chinese roses, from which Bourbon roses and hybrid teas were bred during the 19th Century. They were characterised by the recurved edges of their petals - a feature that can be spotted in the paintings of Fantin-Latour or Rossetti. But the secret of their popularity with rose fanciers was their ability to flower all summer, unlike the old European roses whose brief flowering added to the poignancy of poems and proverbs.
More about roses from BBC Gardening |
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 Tulip
Sunflower
Lily
Rose
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The Monday Rose does not get its name from the day of the week.
Its real name is Rosa mundi, apparently after Rosamund, Henry II's mistress. According to troubadour legend she was poisoned by his queen, Eleanor of Aquitaine.
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