Is there really such a a thing as a rose forever? For those of us fond of flowers - especially roses - having a rose forever is always a wish that doesn't come true. However, with the hand-crafting of roses in everything from gold to silver and platinum, to wood and crystal, that wish can become a reality.
It was around the year 1800, when the French first became interested in both roses and the rose industry.
Empress Josephine, was the one who was responsible for fuelling the interest of the country as she had a great love of botany. As was the case, she surrounded herself with roses at Malmaison – the palace – while she tried to console herself over her divorce from Napoleon. At Malmaison, Josephine collected every available rose type she could get her hands on and also encouraged the creation of new ones through breeding and hybridizing. Inspired, thanks to the empress, several french rose breeders set to work on developing what would amount to several hundred new rose species within the European group of roses.
Chinese rose breeding is somewhat of a mystery – there is very little information on it. There were some indications that the rose was a favored flower but perhaps not as much as others were (such as the Peony or Chrysanthemum). By the time the period 1750-1824 arrived, four different cultivars of roses - “The Four Stud Chinas” - had been developed. Two of the four were true China roses with one being pink and the other red. The other two were Tea roses, one which was blush in color while the other was yellow. All four of these cultivars were continuous-blooming, but they weren't very strong. Despite that, once these new species of roses were introduced into the western world, the progress of roses was completely revolutionized.
Despite the fact that Napoleon had fallen and the empress Josephine had died, the French went on with their efforts with both the old roses and the new ones that had arrived from China. When one French rose breeder – Descemet – was forced to leave France, a store owner named Jean-Pierre Vibert, who was an ex-soldier in Napoleon's army and had an interest in roses, bought what remained of Descemet's nursery along with his breeding notes; from 1816-1850, he had an enormous and lasting influence on the rose industry in France.
While its true the real roses can be hung and dried so as to be able to have a rose forever, they don't have quite the same effect as those that have been dipped in a precious metal or carved in wood and crystal. It's also true that you are able to choose whether to dry a European or a Chinese rose since they are picked right from the garden but with hand-crafted roses, you don't have that option. However, given the final result of a hand-crafted rose is a forever rose, in the end this option is a much better alternative.
Sophia Grace has a rose forever collection. You can purchase a rose forever gift at Plated Gold Roses.