Dolly Parton wrote about not promising someone a rose garden, and life has certainly not been a bed of roses for anyone lately, but I am going to look through rose-tinted glasses for this week’s moodboard.
Roses have inspired people for centuries and we have attributed certain qualities to them. We all know how Robert Burns put it:
O my Luve’s like a red, red rose, That’s newly sprung in June:
O my Luve’s like the melodie, That’s sweetly play’d in tune.
And who would not love a bit of romance in a rose arbour?
Rose quartz is a rosy pink crystal found in Brazil and Madagascar – it too is believed to be linked to love, gentleness and emotional healing, affecting the 4th chakra, that of the heart.
On a more practical level many people just love the vintage look of English Rose Kitchens, which were the last word in cutting edge technology in the 1950s. I have found one in a rosy hue.
But probably the most prevalent rose inspired product in our life is scent. The french perfume industry requires vast amounts of perfect roses in order to satisfy our demand for the rare oil which is extracted from them. There is a valley, Keelat M’gouna, in the Atlas Mountains which grows a little pink beauty in the hedgerows dividing small agricultural plots. These are harvested around the first week in May and celebrated in the Rose Festival which attracts people from all around the region.
Some roses are picked when they are in tight bud for use as tea. There is a huge list of possible health benefits – but apart from that I think it looks so lovely
and would go perfectly with this pretty rose-inspired apple tart.
