Roses

A few weeks ago, it was dandelions.  They were everywhere.  In my neighborhood, they were basically the first "wild" flower to bloom.  I knew spring was coming when I saw the first one.  It all went down hill from there.  Pretty soon, I was seeing field of yellow everywhere I went; fantasizing about making jelly, frying the flower heads and eating the greens.  Fortunately, I was blessed to have quite a few in my yard - which I was able to eat and make jelly with - of which I wrote about in previous posts.

Now is the time for roses - wild roses to be exact.  From the time I spotted the first few buds, I've been anxiously awaiting their bloom.  Two weeks ago, the first ones came.  Only a few at a time.  And then an explosion.

I love this rose bush I have in my yard.  When I first moved here, it was the only thing of color in the backyard besides green.  She was a rather large bush, full and unruly, long tendrils bowing down to the ground with flowers.  I just let her do her thing, I didn't have much experience with rose bushes and was afraid to trim or cut for fear of injuring and ultimately killing this lovely plant. 

Then I came home one day to find my landlord had taken it upon himself to do some yard work.  The rose bush had been hacked to the ground.  It was just a stump.  I felt like I had had the wind knocked out of me.  It was gone.

Or so I thought.
It came back with a vengeance the following year, and has been left untouched (except for a light pruning by yours truly) since.

Besides being beautiful, why are roses important?  For many reasons.  It has been part of stories and lore for ages.  This flower is sacred to Isis, it's the flower of Aphrodite and sprung up from the blood of Venus.  Native Americans used the rose for it's beauty and for medicine.  Remains of roses have been found in ancient burial sites throughout North America that can be dated from 20-40,000 years old.

Roses have also been used throughout history as an aphrodisiac , to east tension and anxiety and to uplift the spirits.  They have a renowned tonifying  and regulating effect on both the female and male reproductive organs.  An infusion of rose petals can relieve menstrual cramps and strengthen bones. 
When working with rose, the petals, leaves, leaf bud and fruit (the rose hips) can be used.

Rose petals can be infused in oil and used for massage to help with the circulatory system and to soothe the nerves.  You can also make a rose water - which makes a wonderful astringent toner.  However, the first thing I like to do with roses, besides prune a few to bring into the kitchen, is to make jelly.

Which brings us back to this year.
Thursday there were more than enough blooms to collect 2 packed cups of petals. 

Isn't it gorgeous?  We've had some wonderful rain storms the last couple of days and now the rose bush is bursting with more blooms.  This is the only thing I hate about gardening/canning season.  The plants don't wait for you to have time to put them up as preserves - it must be done on their time.  Which means I'll be squeezing in another jelly making session this week before opening day at the Farmer's Market Thursday!