Rose / Rosa

Old Heirloom Rose (Rosa spp.) is the original old-fashioned rose, the kind that has been passed down through gardens for generations. It has a very different feeling from the modern hybrid roses, with a softer, more natural form, wonderful fragrance and a strong, resilient way of growing. This is a rose with history in it. It flowers beautifully, but what I especially love is that it produces an abundance of rose hips, giving us another harvest long after the flowers have finished.

Rose hips are one of the great gifts of these old roses. They are rich, nourishing fruits traditionally valued for their vitamin C and are wonderful for teas, syrups, jams, vinegars and herbal preparations. I like allowing many of the flowers to mature naturally so the hips can develop, rather than continually deadheading the plant. As they ripen, they turn into beautiful red or orange fruits and become both food and medicine for us, while also providing nourishment for birds and other garden life.

The petals themselves are medicine too. Rose has long been used in teas, tinctures, infused oils, vinegars and flower preparations, especially for the heart, the nervous system and emotional wellbeing. The fragrant petals are soothing, uplifting and beautiful for skin preparations, while the hips bring a deeper nourishing quality later in the season. I love that an old heirloom rose gives something different at every stage, from flower and fragrance to fruit and seed.

These roses appreciate fertile, living soil with plenty of compost and organic matter. They like regular moisture but need good drainage, and they grow best with plenty of light while appreciating some protection from the strongest afternoon sun in our climate. Mulching around the base helps keep the soil cool, moist and biologically active. Give them room to develop into their natural shape rather than pruning them too tightly, especially if you want a generous crop of rose hips.

This is not simply a decorative rose. It is an old food and medicine plant, a pollinator plant, a wildlife plant and a beautiful piece of living garden history. The flowers are lovely, but for me the abundance of rose hips is what makes this heirloom rose especially valuable.