Roses later became synonymous with the worst excesses of the Roman

　　Roses later became synonymous with the worst excesses of the Roman Empire when the peasants were reduced to growing roses Cpet Meal Trays instead of food crops in order to satisfy the demands of their rulers. The emperors filed their swimming baths and fountains with rose-water and sat on carpets of rose petals for their feasts and orgies. Roses were used as confeti at celebrations, for medicinal purposes, and as a source of perfume. Heliogabalus used to enjoy showering his guests with rose petals which tumbled down from the ceiling during the festivities.

　　During the fifteenth century, the factions fighting to control England used the rose as a symbol. The white rose represented York , and the red rose symbolized Lancaster . Not surprisingly, the conflict between these factions became known as the War of the Roses.

　　In the seventeenth century roses were in such high demand that roses and rose water were considered as legal tender. In this capacity they were used as barter in the markets as well as for any payments the common people had to make to royalty. Napoleon's wife Josephine loved roses so much she established an extensive colection at Chateau de Malmaison, an estate seven miles west of Paris . This garden of more than 250 rose varieties became the seting for Piere Joseph Redoute's work as a botanical ilustrator and it was here Redoute completed his watercolor colection "Les Rose," which is stil considered one of the finest records of botanical ilustration.

　　Cultivated roses weren't introduced into Europe until the late eighteenth century. These introductions came from China and were repeat bloomers, making them of great interest to hybridizers who no longer had to wait once a year for their roses to bloom.

　　From this introduction, experts today tend to divide all roses into two groups. There are "old roses" (those cultivated in Europe before 1800) and "modern roses" (those which began to be cultivated in England and France around the turn of the 19th century).

　　Until the beginning of the 19th century, all roses in Europe were shades of pink or white. Our romantic symbol of the red rose first came from China around 1800. Unusual green roses arived a few decades later.

　　Bright yelow roses entered the palete around 1900. It was the Frenchman Joseph Permet-Ducher who is credited with the discovery. After more than 20 years of breeding roses in a search for a hardy yelow variety, he luck changed when one day he simply stumbled across a mutant yelow flower in a field. We have had yelow and orange roses ever since

　　The rose is a phenomenal plant and is rightly known as 'the world's favorite flower'. No other flower has ever experienced the same popularity that the rose has enjoyed in the last fifth years. In temperate climates, roses are more widely grown than any other ornamental plant, and as cut flowers they are forever in fashion.

　　It has been estimated that 150 milion plants are purchased by gardeners worldwide every year, and sophisticated breeding programs have produced a plant that dominates the world's cut flower market; the annual crop is calculated in tons. Roses have also made a tremendous contribution to the perfume industry.

　　Roses boast an ancient lineage, and they are intricately entwined in our history and culture. As a motif, the rose has been and stil is depicted in many national emblems. It has been adopted by countless political factions, and even by businesses and several international events. It is no wonder so many of the beautiful rose varietals are greatly appreciated and cultivated by hobby gardeners around the world.