A bunch of roses or even a single rose can have a great deal of meaning and have been a very popular romantic gift choice for years. For many years they have been symbols of love and even war and politics.

An old legend has it that originally all roses were white. One night, a nightingale saw a rose and fell in love, inspiring him to sing a song. Before this, nightingales only chirped and croaked. When the nightingale’s passion overtook him, he pressed himself against the flower where the thorns pierced his heart staining the flower. The rose was forever after coloured red.

Roses are thought to have originated in Northern Persia, on the Caspian, or Faristan regions of the Gulf of Persia. The oldest Rose fossils have been found in Colorado, dating back to more than 35 million years ago. Roses were considered sacred flowers in ancient Egypt and were used as offerings to the Goddess Isis. Roses have also been found in Egyptian tombs, where they were formed into funeral wreaths. Confucius reported that the Imperial Chinese library had many books on Roses. Ancient Sumerians of Mesopotamia mentioned Roses in a cuneiform tablet, written in approximately 2860 BC. The English were cultivating and hybridizing Roses in the 15th Century when the English War of Roses took place. The winner of the war, Tudor Henry VII, created the Rose of England (Tudor Rose) by crossbreeding other Roses.

Rose bouquets are used as gifts throughout the world, especially on Valentine’s Day, as they are considered the most beautiful flowers. Rose arrangements can be made for weddings and anniversaries as they have very special meanings. White roses are used as symbol of sympathy or humility, red roses for deep emotions especially love and yellow roses are used as symbols of friendship. While no true black rose yet exists, there are some of such deep red colours that they can almost suggest black.

The Netherlands has about 8000 hectares of land used for cultivation of roses and is the world’s largest exporter of the flowers. Ecuador has about 54 per cent of it land use for cultivation of roses, while in Zambia approximately 80 per cent of the land is used for cultivation of roses.

You can find more about roses on the Interflora website and discover many more red roses.