R is for Rose

The Rose is the national flower of England. And anyone living here will know that the House of Lancaster has a red rose as its symbol whereas the House of York has the white rose. So never buy a Yorkshire lass a bunch of red roses!

red roses – palette knife

white rose – cutout

There are over 100 species. They form a group of plants that can be erect shrubs, climbing or trailing with stems that are often armed with sharp prickles. Flowers vary in size and shape and are usually large and showy, in colours ranging from white through yellows and reds. My favourites are the Old English or Gallica varieties which have the old-fashioned scents of rose, musk, citrus, clove and honey.

I posted a whole month of roses last year, during July so I thought that I would experiment with a few artistic effects today just to shake things up a bit. If you want to see photographs of roses in their natural form then please click on the rose/rosa category above.

Floribunda:

(Latin for “many-flowering”) Smaller flowers, but many of them and they will flower in clusters.

Hybrid Tea:

Hybrid teas generally produce only one blossom at the end of the stem, rather than clusters of flowers.

Watercolour

Shrub:

Shrub roses take the best of the hardiest rose species, and combine those traits with modern repeat blooming and diverse flower forms, colours and fragrances. Some shrub roses may grow tall, with vigorous, far-reaching canes; others stay compact

Nur Mahal

Patio:

The best roses for growing in containers are the patio and miniature types, which can be grown in fairly small but deep pots

Patio Rose – Stardust

Old English:

English Roses are renowned for the strength and diversity of their fragrances.

Graham Thomas

Climbers:

form a most useful group of plants, the stronger growing varieties are often seen covering walls, fences, arches and pergolas, whilst shorter varieties can be trained around poles and tripods to form ‘pillars’. They all require support and it is essential they are well tied to their structures.

Climbing Roses at Polesden Lacy

Ramblers:

These are more pliable in growth than Climbers and generally flower only once. The individual blooms tend to be smaller and come in large trusses, but for sheer quantity of bloom they are unsurpassed.

Roses around the round window

Species or Wild:

Most are single flowered and are valued for the wonderful diversity of scents, foliage, hips and Autumn colouration. 

Rosa Complicata – watercolour