Roses of Myths, Legends and Literature
From the beginning of time myths and legends were created to help mankind manage their world. Gods and goddesses inhabit stories of Rome, Greece and Egypt, with tales of love, deceit, temptation, lust and magic.
We honour those goddesses today not only in their legends but also in roses created in their likeness.
In 2012, Ann’s first book was published in four languages. Entitled Women in my Rose Garden, it tells the stories of historical women who have had classic roses named after them.
This little book follows the same format and relates the stories of mythical women and their roses and attempts to explain why the breeder chose to name their creation. The roses from literature are slightly different. This has been an educated guess: a stretch of the imagination as I grew to know the breeder better.
Since leaving Trinity Farm where we grew over 1600 of these treasures I have concentrated on making the stories of these roses come alive to gardeners and readers. The majority of the roses discussed in this book come from the Hybrid Musk family bred by the Reverend Joseph Pemberton at the beginning of the twentieth century.
These classical roses are special, their namesakes intriguing. I hope you enjoy this little glimpse into their lives.