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Here are some wonderful stories that grace the long history of the rose. We know, for example, that Cleopatra used rosewater in her boat sails to "scent the breeze" and we also know that the plasterers building the Mosques of Baghdad used rose water in the cement mix so that when built, the walls would help fill the evening breezes with the sweet smell of roses.

True or not, there is a charming story of a young couple who, on their wedding day, were given an unusual gift by their in-laws. The canal that encircled the town was filled with rose water so that the newlyweds could watch the sunset through scented breezes as they floated along the canal. The hot afternoon sun caused the rosewater to begin to evaporate and during this process, rose oil was separated from rosewater. Thus, rose oil of "Attar" was discovered and the lucrative scent industry was born.

There are no blue roses although "Blue Moon" claims to come close, and there are as yet, no black roses. Black Baccara is probably the closest. There is however a green rose. Rosa Chinensis Viridiflora is a tiny green rose from China... long name, small size. Rosa Orniendsis Pteracantha is pretty unusual as well, with inch long thorns which turn bright red if viewed against the light.

Supposedly the worlds' biggest rose bush is in Tombstone Arizona and it has an interesting history. It is part of the rose tree museum in Arizona and the original roots were planted in 1885 by Mrs. Henry Gee, who had received a box of "Lady Banksia" shrub rose from relatives in Scotland. Today the single trunk rises to support over 8000 sq feet of bush, helped by a trellis of pipe-work. It is estimated that this amazing rose produces over a million small white roses.

At the other end of the scale are the micro-miniature roses. "Hi" and "Si" was the the first, being bred in Spain in 1957. This very small rose grows to seven inches and produces pale pink roses less than half an inch in diameter. Tied for size is Hi at six to eight inches of height, again with a pale pink bloom of about half an inch. Hi has a single bloom of five petals.

Of all the unusual rose garden stories, my choice goes to the Rome Municipal Rose Gardens which overlook the Circus Maximus. There are several reasons for this choice. The rose garden is partially on the ground of the Temple to Flora, built in the 3rd Century BC and although it is relatively small, it is home to over 1000 different varieties of roses from over 20 countries. But wait - there's more!

Part of the rose garden was originally an old Jewish cemetery so the pathways are shaped into a menorah and the original patron, the lady who started it all, was from Pennsylvania. You can see it today, next to the Coliseum, but it is only open when the roses are in bloom.

The largest rose bloom ever seen is attributed to grower and hybridizer Nikita Rulhoksoffski of San Onofire, CA. He is said to have bred, and shown at the local rose show, a massive 33 inch diameter pink rose bloom. The stem reached 6 feet and the specimen had to be placed on the floor rather than on the show table.

Actually this story started in St. Fagan's Castle in Cardiff Wales. They were attempting to build a Victorian heritage rose garden and a very rare rose, bred in the 19th Century (1887), called "Bardou Job" was one of the ninety needed for the project. The Heritage Rose Group was asked to find this missing rose which was most feared had died out. They found it, of all places, blooming in what was once the head warden's garden on Alcatraz. The warden was known for his roses and the prisoners tended them. It had been under "top security" all the time.

With the help of a friend and gifted writer, David LeAche, we have offered these unusual stories from our world of roses. Most of them are true; after all Dave and I are Rosarians and would never try to fool you. Truthfully, as far as we know only one is not true... ah, but which one?

Roses are members of the plant genus Rosa.  Within that genus, roses are grouped into classifications based on the characteristics that each particular plant displays. When you go to a garden center to choose your rosebushes, knowing which class of rose you want is important. You would not want to plant a once-blooming old garden rose in a spot where having season-long color is important.

·        Hybrid teas: These roses bear large flowers that commonly grow one to a long stem and bloom continually throughout the growing season. The bush can grow quite tall, with an upright habit. Hybrid tea roses are usually budded onto a vigorous rootstock, and are a great choice if you like large flowers with a pleasant rose form and if you like to make rose arrangements or have cut flowers in the house.

·        Grandifloras: These are upright plants with hybrid tea-type flowers. The flowers often grow in clusters, but the stems on each flower within a cluster are long enough for cutting. Grandifloras normally grow to between 3 and 6 feet tall. They’re almost always budded and are a good choice if you like lots of blooms for color in the rose garden and stems for cutting, all on the same plant.

·        Polyanthas: A forerunner of modern floribundas, the plant itself can be quite large, covered with small roses. Their usual habit is compact, hardy, and generous-blooming. The variety you see most often is ‘The Fairy’ – a wonderful variety, covered with small pink roses on a plant that can spread to several feet in height and width.

·        Floribundas: These plants have roses that are smaller than hybrid teas and which grow rose clusters on short stems. The rose bush is usually quite compact and blooms continually throughout the growing season. Most floribundas are budded but commercial growers are beginning to grow them on their own roots. Choose floribunda roses if you need fairly low-growing plants that produce great numbers of colorful flowers.

· Miniatures:  Extremely popular small plants, miniature roses are usually between 6 and 36 inches in height, with their leaves and flowers in perfect proportion. They customarily grow on their own roots and aren’t budded, which makes them hardier in cold climates. Most mini rose varieties bloom profusely throughout the growing season and are a great choice for lots of color in a small space. You can grow mini roses  indoors in pots under a full spectrum fluorescent light or grow-light. Merely putting them on a windowsill won’t work – they won’t get enough light to thrive and blossom.

·        Climbers: These plants don’t really climb like clematis or other true vines that wrap around or attach themselves to supports. They do, however, produce really long canes that need to be anchored to a fence, trellis or other support. Otherwise, the plants sprawl on the ground.  Roses bloom along the whole length of the cane, especially if the cane is tied horizontally, such as along a fence. Some climbers bloom only once in the spring, but many modern climbers produce roses throughout the growing season.

·        Shrubs: Because most rose shrubs are quite hardy and easy to grow and great for landscaping, they have become very popular in recent years. They’re generally large plants, bloom profusely throughout the season and if you want to fill a large space with color, the rose shrub  category offers a great many choices.

·       Old garden roses: Often referred to as Antique roses, these roses were discovered or hybridized before 1867. The classification "old garden roses “ is made up of many subclasses of roses, including alba, bourbon, China, hybrid perpetual, damask, and the species roses. Many old garden roses bloom only once during the growing season.

·       Tree roses, or standards: These aren’t included among the basic categories because nearly any rose that is grafted onto a tall trunk is a tree rose.  Most often, hybrid teas, floribundas, and miniatures are used as tree roses. These plants really aren’t even trees. Most just have the lollipop tree look, but are only 2 to 6 feet high. They’re wonderful either in the ground or in containers but are very susceptible to winter damage – in cold climates you must either bury the entire rose plant in the ground or bring it into a cool garage.

Your choice of rose depends on how you plan to use it and on your personal preferences. Some rose gardeners grow only one or two types of roses, and others grow many varieties. Understanding the classifications will help in making your choice. Happy planting.

As an artist as well as a writer, I can say without a doubt that there are many misconceptions about art. In my search for a rose artist, I found Gina De Gorna. Her art techniques, styles and paintings of roses in oil were the subjects I found exceptional. Whether painting a single rose or a bouquet of roses, she captures in vivid detail this beautiful flower.

Not all of us have a sense of color or even proportion - but everyone can learn how to 'use' them. Artist's greatest secret is that they paint with emotions - they do not think of what the objects are but what shapes and colors they see. There are no two roses exactly alike, and if you study the old Masters you will find many interpretations of our rose.

But for the lack of confidence in one's ability to reproduce various shapes or forms say of a rose, ordinary people might overcome the biggest obstacle a person has to ever draw, paint or sculpt one. Gina paints in oil, acrylic and a variety of limited edition Giclee reproductions, cards and prints.

Much has been said about the 'balance of an artwork not affecting reality' for the purpose of balance and a pleasant composition artists often make their version of reality; this may mean your version of that rose garden, or single rose. They do not copy exactly everything they see from a photo or nature. They freely change, omit or add elements of a scene, shapes, colors or interesting textures. This is called "artist's license", and please, do it.

If you are a rose lover, you may want to have a few pieces of rose art in your home. Perhaps as you hold a lovely rose in your hand, you might be tempted to capture its beauty on paper or canvas yourself. You have nothing to lose and a huge sense of accomplishment if you win. Indulge!

Bring your camera and take a day trip to an historic rose garden.   Long praised by rose lovers, some historic rose gardens  contain rare examples of roses as well as unique landscaping methods using all rose plants with different growing habits.  Because of their longevity and wide variety of rose bushes, these rose gardens are considered famous and historic. Some are more than 100 years old and many are open to the public free of charge.

Portland, Oregon

Known as the "Rose City," Portland has several public rose gardens, but the International Rose Test Garden is the most well-known. Founded in 1917, it is the oldest official public rose test garden in the United States and located in Washington Park.

Seattle, Washington

The Rose Garden in Woodland Park Zoo was planted originally to provide a free, public display of roses. Currently, the garden houses 280 rose varieties.

Tyler, Texas

Municipal Rose Grden is open 7 days a week in Tyler. It is the nation’s largest rose garden for new varieties o roses and also has an area set aside for antique and heritage roses. It has one of 22 All America Rose Selection trial gardens in the US. In 2003 a section of the park was dedicated to the David Austin line of Old English roses.

Northern California   

The Berkeley Municipal Rose Garden was finished in 1937 during the Depression – it took four years of construction and has 3000 rose bushes and 250 different varieties of roses. Mother’s Day is considered the best time to view this spectacular park, the largest rose garden in Northern California.

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Lyndale Park Rose Garden is the second oldest public rose garden in the US with a layout that has not been changed since it was planted by Theodore Wirth in 1908. It contains 3000 roses of 250 varieties.

Sacramento, California

A popular setting for weddings and day trips, this rose garden is home to over 1200 roses of all different varieties. McKinley Park Rose Garden is free to the public during daylight hours.

Chicago, Illinois

The Chicago Botanic Gardens is home to 26 distinct gardens, one of them being a beautiful rose garden that houses 5000 colorful rose bushes.

Hales Corners, Wisconsin

The Voight Trial Garden is part of the Boerner Botanical Gardens and was opened in 1939; traditionally designed with gravel walks around the garden and grass walks through the rose beds.  The garden also uses the traditional European design with ponds and pools and other plant life on the grounds.

Mesa, Arizona

The Mesa, Arizona rose garden is unique as part of the city’s community. The rose garden serves as a part of their education, allowing students from kindergarten through high school and community college to use the gardens as botanical laboratories and study areas.

Many rare varieties of roses can be enjoyed by a simple day trip to one of numerous Historic Gardens that grace the landscape of our country. England and America both share the rose as their national flower and what better way to study the gardens that have influenced our love of the rose?

We have fossil evidence that leads us to believe that roses flourished at least 32 million years ago; Europe, America, the Middle East and the Orient. Here we are in 2010 and this year’s Floribunda-of-the-year is Monkey Business… a feisty yellow rose that delights us from the unexpected licorice scent to the huge clusters of high-centered blooms.

Most roses in the Northern Hemisphere were pink and Europeans indulged in ttheir various whites and pinks; even their reds were crimson-like. Then in the 18th Century, yellow wild roses  were discovered growing in the Middle East. Wild varieties form Afghanistan and Southwest Asia blossomed in colors from pale yellow to deep sulphur. Causing quite a sensation, they were planted and first attempts at hydridization with yellow roses  took place.

There are three yellow rose species which formed the foundation for modern  yellow rose hybrids: Rosa Ecae, Rosa Foetida and Rosa Hemisphaerica. Rosa Ecae is native to Afghanistan; it is small very thorny and reddish brown wood with ferny leaves. The blossoms resemble buttercups and it is not a hardy rose preferring warmer climates.

Rosa Foetida is a huge rose sometimes reaching 8 feet in height. Its stems are chestnut brown and its thorns are black. True yellow in color, its blooms are a good size with yellow stamens

Rosa Hemisphaerica, also known as the ‘sulphur’ rose, is native to Southwest Asia. Not only are their blossoms pure yellow they are double blossoms. The bushes grow to approximately 6 ft tall and their foliage is gray-green. But sadly, the scent of this rose is sulphur. Moreover, with the advent of the yellow genes these roses had a weakness for blackspot, and not nearly as vigorous as their pink and white cousins.

Centuries later, we now can recapture the innocent glory of long summer days with our Monkey Business Floribunda – a candy-like fragrance, bright primary color that will bring a smile to the face of any rose grower.

We’ve come a long way since their first discovery. Yellow roses are more vigorous with densely packed doubles today, in many glorious shades of lemon creams to deep golds. Blackspot and undesirable sulphur scents have been bred out of the original species roses and replaced with light-anise fragrance. No other rose deliver as much color as floribundas.

Eshter B. Smith has been a long standing member of our Staff here at Heritage Rose Gardening Center.  Her research material is thorough no matter what subject she undertakes, and her creative writing skills are par none.

Smith graduated from The Institution for Children’s Literature in Redding, Connecticut. Her career began because of a desire to write for children but the Internet caught her attention, and she’s been writing Articles and eBooks ever since.

Her Articles won her Expert Author status from Ezine Articles in 2006-7 in the category of Entrepreneurship; Self Employment, and later she moved to the political writings with so many others concerned with our country’s economic direction.