Rose for Success
Rose, Rosaceae
Rose’s message is success. Success is in the eye of the beholder; we define it for ourselves. In memoir writing, success can be small steps or large ones, from starting to write or completing a section to finishing the manuscript or receiving printed copies. There are many successes between contemplating writing a memoir and reaching the natural end to the project, which might range from distribution to family and friends to international marketing of the book.
In a slate formation in Colorado, scientists have found fossil evidence that wild roses flourished in North America at least 40 million years ago. Other research indicates that the early cultivation of roses began in China around 3000 BCE. During the height of the Roman Empire, rose petals were used as confetti at festivities as well as in medicine and perfumes. In the Middle Ages, Greeks hung a rose from the ceiling in any room where a secret meeting was taking place, ensuring confidentiality in the proceedings. From this, we get the word sub-rosa. By the 17th century, royalty considered roses and rose water as legal tender.
Roses have grown in gardens for centuries. Documentation suggests roses were originally valued for their vermilion seed pod, the rosehip, which forms in the fall. These were chewed as a healthy food. (Today, we know the rosehip is a source of Vitamin C.) Later, the soft summer petals were gathered for culinary, decorative, and fragrant uses.
Roses in my garden stand tall inside a small fenced area, carefully protected from the ever-hungry deer. I’ve often thought the bud might be viewed by Bambi in the same way we view a hot fudge sundae — too tempting to ignore. When we moved to the country in 1997, I decided my years of growing roses were behind me. I certainly didn’t intend to get into a pissing match with the local deer that took up residence here not long after we did. But our youngest son, after college, moved in for a year while he started a new teaching position. He wanted roses and tulips. Today, I treasure the cutting garden, a reminder of that year.
The rose is one of the plants in our Memoir Garden that evokes different memories for us in each of the seasons, buds in the spring that bring promise, blossoms in the summer that remind us of fulfillment, pods in the fall that represent nourishment, and bare branches in the winter that advise of the need for rest in all growing things. The rose states that success comes through change.
Visit our Writer’s Store with its products for encouragement and sharing that feature many of the herbs from our Memoir Garden.
While you’re exploring the Writer’s Store be sure to check out our Tea of Wisdom and Success. This blend came about by accident. Some of the best things happen this way. When women take our classes, they sometimes say they only drink herbal teas. So we decided we needed a tea that wasn’t green. Because we use a lovely mint and lavender in our other teas, we considered making that our fourth tea.
Then a neighbor returned from China with the nicest container of dried rose buds. Hum. I combined a few rose buds with some of our mint. Wow. The fragrance delights the sense of smell while the mint tingles on the tongue. An instant success. Well, almost instant. We tested various amounts of rose buds and mint until our tasters all gave us a “thumbs-up.” Then I searched for a source of organic rose buds that we combine with our organic mint.
We call this our Tea of Wisdom and Success – two elements we need in telling and finishing our memoir. In the ancient language of herbs, each herb has several complimentary meanings. We’ve chosen “wisdom” as the definition of rose and “success” as the definition of mint.
Try this delightful, fragrant herbal blend, click here.
