JUNE BLOSSOMS: ROSES AND HONEYSUCKLE
June is that magical time of year when the natural world is bursting with roses. Cascades of climbing roses decorate trellises, and wild ones grow any and everywhere they can. There’s nothing quite as captivating as the scent of wild roses. What could possibly make roses even better? Honeysuckle is a flower whose scent is so heady it’s irresistible. Did you ever, as a child, take a little bird sip of nectar housed at the apex of the blossom only to be rewarded with the sweetest drink? If wild roses are brambly, honeysuckle has met its match. They both are best when they grow untended and can wind around fences, trees, or any standing structure. Honeysuckle vine is truly an indicator that summer—more specifically, June—has arrived.
“If I show you the roses, will you follow?” -Where the Wild Roses Grow, Nick Cave
Symbolism & Medicine: From pop ballads to the Romantic poets, the symbolism of roses is steeped in our memory as the most romantic flower. Roses are so sensuous they even have hips! We almost instantly associate roses with love that’s either lasting or fleeting. Whether it’s a summer fling that ends well or a little thorny, we have T.S. Eliot’s words to remind us of what’s transitory: “Footfalls echo in the memory down the passage which we did not take towards the door we never opened into the rose-garden.” Even classic Disney comes to mind with transformative love that’s possible if only realized before the last petal falls from the magical glittering rose. Roses and romance go together like peaches and cream—one only makes the other sweeter—but the majestic flower is also associated with secrecy as well (think of the Latin term “sub rosa,” which denotes something done in private and literally means “under the rose.”)
Roses are not only beautiful to look at and smell, they are also medicinal. Make sure your utilize the hips (fruit) and petals in your home apothecary. Of course, essential rose oil and water have been used for centuries as favoured beauty treatments and means of seduction, but they’re also used to infuse teas and so much more. Herbalists consider roses (the heirloom variety being the best) to have energy that is “cooling,” and this means they serve as an anti-inflammatory. Tannins found in roses have astringent qualities, and, of course, there’s no better treat than rose-infused candies. The Damask rose is the variety most well-known for its intoxicating fragrance and is used in aromatherapy to alleviate bad nerves and even grief.
Honeysuckle is also steeped in traditional uses, folklore, and symbolism. It has been said that if honeysuckle grows near your door, it offers good luck and protection from evil spirits. Because the aroma is so sharp, it was even forbidden in the home, and young girls were made weary of picking it lest the heady fragrance give them suggestive dreams! Honeysuckle is invaluable to wildlife as it supports pollinators (bees and moths), serves as food for a myriad of birds, and as a shelter for dormice. Walt Whitman described his poetry as “honeysuckle vastness” because of the flower’s immense blossoming, varying shades of white, yellow, and pink-tinged hues, and honeyed scent that floods its surroundings.
While the Europa-Rosarium in Sangerhausen, Germany, is the largest in the world (with over 8,000 species), there are literally rose gardens almost everywhere. Sometimes, the most charming places to find roses are where they’re unkept and left to thrive in a haphazard fashion. Consider visiting the Mottisfont Abbey Garden in the UK for its unusual varieties and stone archways. The Bagatelle rose garden in France is a floral spectacle that dates back to Marie Antoinette; while there are oodles of famous rose sanctuaries all over the world, visit community green spaces in your own neighbourhood this June (and all summer) to stop and smell the roses. If you are able to pick wildflowers this June, no rose bouquet would be complete without vines of honeysuckle to complement and enliven the posy.
Experiencing a sea of roses with hundreds of bushes, manifold blossoms, and thousands of petals can be overwhelming, to say the least, but a bouquet—or even a single rose bud—is just as alluring and makes the perfect present for June birthdays. Chelsea Flowers has every colour rose you fancy and offers rainbow and/or monochromatic colourway arrangements as well as single options. All are long-stem and cultivated to last for at least a week; the roses at Chelsea Flowers are swoon-worthy.
For more information on Chelsea Flowers and their luxurious rose arrangements, visit the website.
For more information on roses and honeysuckle, visit the links consulted in this blog: