All About Home and Garden

The timeless flower of love is a rose - every girl is a sucker for roses whether they admit it or not and I can tell that on good authority. In fact, the rose has been a special flower that has brought people from all walks of life together.

You only have to look at the local florist's store to see how popular roses are! Chances are the most number of flowers in the store will be roses! I kid you not. Just go have a look see and you'll find that I am right! You will find roses of all sizes, colors shapes and even scents. So popular is the rose that you might come across it at the grocery store too!

The popularity of Roses goes back a long time. Did you know that the rose is actually an Ancient Greco-Roman symbol? It was a symbol which represented spring, beauty and of course love. But it also symbolized the transient nature of time.

Symbolism

But the more familiar symbolism of roses is that roses depict mother Mary. The rose - which is seen as the queen of flowers - is actually a symbol for Mother Mary. In fact, red roses represented martyrs too in Latin Christian symbology. The Rose has also come to stand for Christ who is called the Rose of Sharon. You have only to look at pictures of cathedrals and churches to see evidence of this fact.

Roses have a distinctive, sweet scent. For a lot of people, this is a bit too overpowering. But don't worry there are roses with mild scents as well. In fact, there are roses of every type, to suit everyone's taste. Did you know that not all roses come with thorns? Yes, that's right; there is a special variety of the rose plant which is thorn-less!

Antique Roses - My Favorite

Antique roses, in my opinion are the best of the lot. It is basically a European variety of rose which has pink flowers and a sweet scent - in fact; even the leaves of this plant are sweet! I have several antique rose plants at home, but growing them is quite bard, let me tell you and you need to take special care of your plants.

You need to settle on an area which gets several hours of sunlight in the morning. It is also a good idea to give the plant room for a great deal of air movement since the bush grows mighty fast and reaches a good size. The soil you choose to cultivate your plant on should also be of a good quality and your plant will bloom if you have good quality organic material to supplement the growth.

The best time to plant the bush is during the spring season or early summer, before the heat really takes over. It is a good idea to keep the antique in a container for a few months before you plant it outdoors. Have fun with your rose(s) and don't forget to smell them every morning when you wake up for a great start to your day.

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