152. A bit of fragrance always clings to the hand that gives roses. ~Chinese Proverb

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Under a lawn, than skies more clear,
Some ruffled Roses nestling were,
And snuggling there, they seem’d to lie
As in a flowery nunnery;
They blush’d, and looked more fresh than flowers
Quickened of late by pearly showers. . .
~Robert Herrick, 17th century English poet

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As you can see in my photographic “nunnery,” the “sisters” are all roses, but all are not wearing the same “habit.”  They all have petals, but the number of petals is not the same.  They’re all pink, but it is not the same shade of pink.  They all start out as not-so-different buds, but when open they do not all look alike.  Even the scents are not all the same.  However, there are those who been known to say, like I did at one time, that all roses are more or less the same.  But “a rose is a rose is a rose” is simply not the case.  When I fell in love with gardening, I started learning about the many varieties of roses, and after growing them I realized that each species has its own unique personality and appearance.  What surprised me the most was that according to fossil findings the roses we see today are the descendants of ones that have been growing for over 35,000,000 years.  It wasn’t until after prehistoric times, though, that treks of one kind or another began to spread them all around the world.  These early migrations are reported to have originated in places like Persia, Egypt, Mesopotamia, and China.  Then later on many of them traveled along with the spread of Christianity because monks would move them from one monastery garden to another during the Crusades, and it was some of those early Christians who identified the five petals of the single rose (lower right photo) with the five wounds of  the Messiah.

For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved. . .  ~2 Corinthians 2:15

12 thoughts on “152. A bit of fragrance always clings to the hand that gives roses. ~Chinese Proverb”

  1. Very interesting. I had no idea roses had been around so long. I love the Robert Herrick words. When I was a teenager, I was absolutely addicted to his poetry. I carried a book with me everywhere which contained some of his poems and I read them over and over again. I rarely hear anyone mention him now, so I am so glad you touched my memories of those times.

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  2. Pingback: 152. A bit of fragrance always clings to the hand that gives roses. ~Chinese Proverb | Sacred Touches

  3. Oh, I’m so glad I touched upon good memories for you. One of my teaching fields is English and so one of the courses I took to satisfy my degree plan was about the Romantic poets which are some of my favorites. When we made our first trip to the UK this past June, I so wanted to make a stop in Wales to visit Tintern Abbey, but we just couldn’t squeeze it it. I hope you have a great week filled with good memories. Natalie

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  5. Your selection of roses is beautiful, and they fit the words of your poem so well. I knew that roses were a very old family, but hadn’t quite realised how old they are, they certainly have been around for a long time.

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