The Rose: June's Birth Flower

Every month we are asking if you know about your birth flower, and this month we're talking about the Rose!

The idea that birth flowers, such as the rose, have meanings was introduced in the early 18th century by members of the literary community. So each month was assigned a flower. And it was thought that the characteristics of those would be inherited by those born in that month.

The birth flower for June

Few flowers are as popular across the world as the rose. They are found in gardens, the wild, and cultivated for bouquets and decorations. And there are tens of thousands of varieties of this beautiful bloom. Because they are so easy to grow and cross breed, there are roses for almost every name, celebrity, and occasion. Not to mention, roses can be found in every colour and shade of the rainbow. (There's even a rose that is called 'Almost Black'!)

Gardener's World alone has over 250 articles dedicated to the rose on their website. So you could easily spend weeks learning about the June birth flower.

Symbolism: the Rose

And it isn't enough for the rose to have a single meaning. Because each different colour rose has traditionally been seen as a symbol for different things throughout history.

The experienced and well established flower company Bloom and Wild have great descriptions for the different meanings for roses on their website here.

Red Roses
Love and Passion

Pink roses
Gratitude and Admiration

Peach Roses
Gratitude

Yellow Roses
Warmth, Friendship, and Happiness

White Roses
Purity and Grace

Orange Roses
Enthusiasm and Energy

Purple Roses
Love at First Sight!

Blue roses
Mystery and Unattainability

Green roses
Nature, Rejuvenation and Fertility

But you can also buy roses for your garden for almost every occasion. There are cultivated rose bushes named things such as Golden Wedding. This would be perfect as an anniversary gift for a couple celebrating 50 years of marriage.

There's even a special Jubilee Rose, a real treat to plant in celebration of Queen Elizabeth's Platinum Jubilee this year in 2022.

Uses

The rose is possibly the most versatile flower you will find in your garden.

Roses can be used as both ornamental and cut plants, in perfumes, medicines, paints, and even in food. And the oil from a rose can be used to delicately flavour cakes, and is especially popular in Indian desserts.

Did you know that painting a delicate rose petal with egg white and dipping it in caster sugar makes the most beautiful cake decorations too?

And even at Bombus we use natural rose oils in some of our handmade luxury soaps.

Roses in Popular Culture

The rose has appeared in literature as far back as Greek and Roman legends. The rose was closely associated with the goddess Aphrodite in the Iliad, and has appeared in countless paintings from as far back as Roman times.

Most famously, the rose's reputation for romance was sealed by Shakespeare when he used it in a famous quote from Romeo and Juliet.

"A rose by any other name would smell as sweet"

In fact, Shakespeare's favourite flower was reportedly the rose. And his writings are full of references to it. Not surprisingly, seeing as the rose was prevalent during the Elizabethan reign. This is nicely summed up by The Shakespeare Trust here.

The Rose as a Birth Flower

Attributes associated with the rose in terms of as a birth flower:

Love

Dedication

Devotion

One of our most noted authors and poets D.H. Lawrence wrote:

She drips herself with water, and her shoulders
Glisten as silver, they crumple up
Like wet and falling roses, and I listen
For the sluicing of their rain-dishevelled petals.
In the window full of sunlight
Concentrates her golden shadow
Fold on fold, until it glows as
Mellow as the glory roses.

— D.H. Lawrence

And if you want to know even more about the Birth Flower for June, or indeed any month, the LolaFlora blog has a huge amount of information and interesting facts!