February Flower of the Month - The Red Rose

So maybe it is "cliche" to have the red rose as our February Flower of the Month but before you disregard this post hear us out. I thought it would be interesting to learn a little history about why the red rose is important in history. The rose is a perennial plant with over 100 species. Flowers are large and showy, in a variety of colors. 

Genus - Rosa

Family - Rosaceae

Kingdom - Plantae

Order - Rosales

Lets just say the red rose has been symbolic for a very, very long time in various countries around the world. There was even a series of civil wars called Wars of the Roses dealing with two branches of noble power who wanted the English throne for themselves, the houses of Lancashire and York. The house of Lancashire represented by the red rose and the house of York represented by the white rose.  


These wars were fought off and on throughout the years of 1455 and 1485, with the final "battle" being won by Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond and the house of Lancashire (not the Henry Tudor you are thinking about) whose linage ruled England and Wales for over one-hundred years. Henry Tudor VII married Elizabeth of York uniting the two families as one. So really all the fighting was for nothing since in the end they all came together in a "Happily Ever After" sort of way. 

  

                         House of Lancashire Red Rose                       House of York White Rose


Beyond the history with the Royals of England the red rose (and roses in general) have been around for thousands of years.  Civilizations from China to Rome, England and many others have enjoyed and valued roses since they were first cultivated.  They are a classic symbol of love and romance but have also been symbols in wars and politics. The Lisa Foster Floral Design Team loves red roses, well to be honest, we love roses of all colors.  It's hard to just love one!


Roses in gardens are fairly easy to maintain and roses are repeat bloomers with long blooming seasons. They smell good and come in a variety of colors. You can learn a lot from the University of Illinois "Our Rose Garden" website. There they tell you how to grow and maintain your roses.  


Now you are a little more educated on the history of the red rose and maybe will get to use this information during a trivia game! Or maybe your sweetheart will be impressed with your random flower knowledge. There are probably endless amounts of history regarding the symbolism of the rose but we wanted to just touch on one. 


As we prepare for Valentine's Day we want to remind everyone that there is a 10% discount for all Valentine's orders placed before February 11th.  

Information for this post was found on www.Wikipedia.com, www.Illinois.edu

Kim on behalf of,