William Blake knew it all along. Some things never change. Photo Credit: Wikipedia

OK, I did get in a plug for Valentine’s Day earlier this week, but really now, can too many hints be dropped, Dear Valentine?  I thought not.

Gift giving on Valentine’s Day can be dangerous business when it comes to romance and roses, but I’ll get to that in a minute.

First a few thoughts on Valentine’s Day Gift Giving.  It’s a well-known fact that most men give the  gifts they would like to receive on this auspicious occasion…and who can blame them.  Gossamer clad passionate dreams hover in the mind like sugarplum fairies waiting to dance.

Yeah, that’s a little flowery, but this is a family friendly venue.  You get the gist.  Daydreaming of love is is no crime, though.  It seems like just the right fit  for most anyone, depending on how it comes down.  Sometimes Mars Men do it differently than we would on Venus, though.

Now don’t get me wrong, there nothing inherently deficient  in “Howdy, honey.  Here’s some scanty lingerie. Gonna try it on now?”  This is made all the more appealing when  accompanied by a good swift, masculine kick to the bedroom door.

Now, you know I’m just joking with you, guys.  Still, hurried romance does not hold a candle to the lingering way of love.

I’m speaking of savoring a dozen (or more) classic long stem roses, fine chocolate and a dinner for two.  Then come the kisses and cuddles.  Passion has been known to fully blossom, as it were, in such august presence–or should I say, presents?  That is, of course, this female’s perspective.

Naturally, we ladies tend to give our men what we would want, too, like jewelry for example. (another little hint)  More than one lady has given her Valentine a box of chocolates.  Sorry ‘bout that.  Some men have even gotten roses.  Poor darlings, ha!  Ah, but that’s what we love…roses!

Roses are so beautiful.  In fact, roses are the favorite flower in the United States of America.  Yes, you are right.  The American Beauty Rose is the national flower.  Such is our love affair.

Roses have been around forever, but they have only recently come to such uniform visual quality.  Perfectly formed petals, fantastic coloring, tight buds and sturdy stems are the highlights of horticultural efforts for the past hundred years.  The fragrance is mostly gone now in these artificially perfect specimens, and the buds often bend their heads in sorrow long before they bloom, but these prize beauties are still wondrous to behold when fresh and new.

Commercial rose growing has now become a huge international industry supported by vigorous toxic chemical intervention to keep up the necessary productivity.  The ever increasing demand for roses has inspired growers to seek new places to (pollute and) cultivate roses to placate our rose passions.  Now, roses are plentiful and inexpensive, even in wintertime, because they are grown in South America.  As you know, it’s summer down there at the moment.

Beauty sure has its price. Because they are so prone to disease, commercial and home grown roses are usually sprayed, dusted and doused with fungicide and insecticide cocktails to fight off the foul destroyers.  Good for roses, bad for us.  Added to that,  the synthetic fertilizers most rose growers use, in the home or in the greenhouse, contribute to polluting the streams and causing eutrophication. The contamination continues by osmosis.  Whatever leaches into  vase water, we dump down the sink and right into our drinking water supply.

I used to just love pressing roses to my face,  in hopes of a slight hint of old fashioned rose fragrance.  Alas, no more.  It’s downright dangerous.  I prefer not to try to kill myself with flower power.  Our poor livers are already overloaded with environmental toxins every day.  It’s a crying shame to add roses to the list of ‘don’t touch me,’ because I LOVE ROSES!

I really hate being the party pooper with all this poison talk.  But don’t blame me, William Blake started the whole thing with his talk of  roses, worms and the consequences. Some things never change.  Let’s just say from an environmental standpoint, we can do better than to buy that inexpensive rose bouquet at the grocery store, florist, or street vendor for our loved ones, and we can be more responsible in growing roses for our home gardens.

Yes, there are some bright spots growing ever more visible on the horizon for the rose grower and the rose receiver, and not a moment too soon.  Organic roses and sustainably grown roses are now commercially available in plants for the garden and bouquets for the beloved.  You can indulge in healthy rose passion responsibly.

You can buy  and grow garden roses that do not need chemicals to thrive.  These hardy beauties come in a range of colors and varieties.  There are China roses, tea roses, floribundas and more. Different varieties need different climates, but there are roses for Zone 4 to Zone 10 that are low maintenance, easy to grow and sustainable.  Earth Kind® roses and Buck Roses identified by  Texas A & M University and Iowa State University respectively, are available at fine garden centers and online. If you don’t mind a little kudo, I want to send a shout out to Chamblee Rose Nursery and the Antique Rose Emporium . These two are  nurseries that  have been pioneers growing in the sustainable rose.  You won’t find better roses for sustainability than with these two fine companies     For more information check out our articles on Earth Kind® Roses and Sustainable Roses.

For those special occasions you can now buy an Organic Bouquet which carries not one hint of danger, except perhaps from a thorn.

An Organic Bouquethas all the beauty and none of the chemicals of traditional commercially grown roses.  Since rose growing is so expensive anyway, and organic rose growing is not more costly, you can buy bouquets of organic roses for about the same as you would pay in any decent flower shop.  When it comes to shopping for cut roses, this one is a no brainer!

As Albert Einstein quipped, “A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.  So is a lot.”  (I wonder if he thought that up right after discovering the laws of relativity.)  At any rate, whether you knew a little or a lot about roses before, you can now claim to have added to your information base some rose history, rose poetry, knowledge of the long term effects of all these romantic rose remembrances, and the available alternatives.

Oh, I didn’t forget about Blake.   For our poetry lovers,  here is what William Blake shared in his Songs of Experience as the 39th plate.

The Sick Rose

O Rose thou art sick.
The invisible worm,
That flies in the night
In the howling storm:

Has found out thy bed

Of crimson joy:

And his dark secret love
Does thy life destroy.

Related Articles You May Enjoy

Roses and Sustainability

Earth-Kind® Roses – The Sustainable Choice for your Landscape & Garden