My handkerchief-sized garden doesn’t often produce blooming flowers but when it does, the world is a wonderful place and I tell everyone who’d listen—like I’m doing now-- about my plants and how much joy they give me. Hey, don’t hit the next-blog button yet!
Let me tell you what you don’t know about roses. Roses are incredibly ancient flowers. They have existed for at least 32 million years!
You might think that roses, in their various colours, were scattered evenly all over the globe, minus the Arctic and Antarctica regions of course. Apparently, the native roses of America , Europe and the Orient were in various shades of pink only, from pale pinks to bright crimson pinks. There were also white roses but yellow ones were absent.
So when yellow roses were introduced in Europe in the 18th century, they caused a sensation! Remember the ridiculous prices of rare tulips in Holland
I’m sure you want to know where yellow roses originated. Their hues ranged from pale yellow to sulfur and were discovered, in the 18th century, growing wild in the Middle East and in South West Asia (including Afghanistan
Nowadays there’re countless rose hybrids and roses are popular as gifts. Do you know that the number and colour of roses you get as gifts have special significance and symbolism ? Learn more about this! You don’t want to send your neighbour a bunch of roses to say thank you for fixing your roof but unwittingly telling him: “You’re the one”!
Just so you know, a bouquet of twelve red roses is saying “Be mine”. Not something you want to send to your best friend’s wife!
BTW, I’m never lucky with roses. The beauties in the photos here are the first blooms of my newly bought plants. I've decided to feed them with organic fertilizers only. Hence my revived interest in bokashi! Wish me luck with subsequent buds and blooms.
Do you plant any flowers? What are your favourites?
Just last night my kids were trying to figure out what's the next line that rhymes with "roses are red, violets are blue" :). And I did very well by remembering it correctly "sugar is sweet my love, but not as sweet as you ", or did I?
ReplyDeleteBeautiful roses, simple, yet elegant. And I've definitely learnt something about them today. These are my all time favourite, though my main favourite are carnations :)
Hi Tina and Verone. Mine is sunflower. Strangely, I only like then when they are in the form of plastic (bunga palsu). I never likes the real ones, don't know why. I love roses too, only when they are already picked. When you had experience falling from your bicycle onto your mother's rose plants, you will seem not to like rose plants so much when you grow up!
ReplyDeleteHi Verone and Gunaqz!
ReplyDeleteThose are the lyrics in the song, Verone. An old, old song I grew up with. Was Cliff Richard the singer? He started with: A long, long time ago, on graduation day I wrote into your book...
The rhyme is very close: ...violets are blue. Sugar is sweet and so are you. (So romantic, kan?)
Gunaqz, that explains why you've Sunflo in all your cartoons! And I can understand your not liking rose bushes.
Hi Tina, my first time commenting here :)
ReplyDeleteI'm never good at planting flowering plants. So I opt for non-flowering plants. So far I have only succeed in growing my 'money plant'. At least ada lah kan. :)
Hi Chegu Carol! Thanks for stopping by... Money plant is good! I used to plant a few because they grow fast and I was hoping my money would grow too. No luck there. I also used to have a clump of 'Japanese bamboo'. Grew very well and became tall and busy.
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