…that the Empress Josephine influenced the popularity of rose cultivation in the late Georgian era?
Napoleon’s beloved first wife assembled the largest number of varieties of roses every assembled in a single place. She also fostered the breeding of new types. Throughout the entire Georgian period including the Regency, rose growing was a passion.
Roses in that period and before were generally grown on shrubby sorts of bushes, some of them six or more feet tall. During the summer blooming period the blooms could be abundant. They were only occasionally of the heritage, single flower variety, similar to the Tudor rose. More often the roses grown were of the lush multifloria types such as the damask rose. Cross breeding was a passion. There were twenty-one species of rose in England in 1660. By 1838 there were over 500!
There is more here:
https://defcalm4.com/roses-the-queen-of-the-garden-during-the-regency/
http://literary-liaisons.com/article019.html
About my work in progress
I began looking at roses for my work in progress, a novella called “The Sixth Henry,” to be included in A Duke in Winter, which can be pre-ordered now for a December release. Henry Bradley inherits his title unexpectedly. As Duke of Roseleigh responsibilities weigh him down. It isn’t help that all his dependents seem obsessed with insuring that Roseleigh win the annual York Rose Competition in the summer. Roses? Please. He has sheep to shelter, tenants to care for, an aunt to soothe, a sister to manage…
pre-order here:
https://www.amazon.com/Duke-Winter-Historical-Romance-Collection-ebook/dp/B09X8JFNBS/
About A Duke in Winter
“It was a dark and snowy night…”
Winter has come and the holiday seasons have arrived. ‘Tis the season to be jolly for most, but beneath the joyous celebrations lurks moody, dark, and seductive dukes that make England’s most famous bard’s brooding lords look like charm boys. But this isn’t a tortured Danish prince or a tormented king with three conniving daughters. This is…
A Duke In Winter.
Ten of your favorite historical romance authors have come together for this wintery collection to set your pulse racing. Melt the snow a little with this collection of sexy tales of moody dukes and the women hot enough to warm them.
Indulge in the most unexpected of winter romantic tales!
This set includes USA Today and Bestselling authors:
Elizabeth Johns
Emily Royal
Anna St. Claire
Elizabeth Keysian
Caroline Warfield
Elizabeth Ellen Carter
Ruth A. Casie
C.H. Admirand
Charlotte Wren
Sandra Sookoo
Veronica Crowe
Anna Markland
Chantry Dawes
and there were very few if any yellow roses until the 19th century. The first yellow rose, though described in 1583 when it was brought to Vienna, was Rosa foetida[aka Rosa lutea, aka Astrian briar & other names] which smelled unpleasant. It comes from the Caucasus mountains in Georgia. It was cultivated in Holland and may have been brought to Kew in the later decades of the 18th century. I’ve never been able to tie down an exact date. There are a few other west asian roses from Afghanistan and generally in the ‘stans’. They were well established by the time the Victorians rewrote the language of flowers. However, NO hybrid tea roses before the 1880s, hence no polyantha roses or floribunda roses.
[I included a brief history of roses in the gardening chapter of ‘The wannabee Regency miss’s guide to real life’ and tracking down that blasted yellow rose was so elusive! I got sick of reading Regencies where anachronistic roses feature, a pet peeve along with wrist watches and bars of chocolate. Uh, sorry, that was a rant.
Thank you so much! Fascinating and helpful. My poor Henry is being overwhelmed by roses.
Glad I could help! if you need a timeline of roses, I can always email it to you.