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A rose is a rose is a rose, unless it is a Ballerina, Complicata, Deep Secret, Golden Celebration, Remember Me, Rhapsody in Blue, Crimson Cascade, Irish Eyes, Joie de Vivre or named “For Your Eyes Only.”
Or unless a classic red rose’s namesake is Ingrid Bergman; or a gorgeous orange-yellow rose is named after Judy Garland; or a fragrant, lavender-purple rose’s name is Barbara Streisand; or a gorgeous, voluptuous rose is called Dolly Parton or unless a beautiful candy-striped rose bears the name Julio Iglesias.
My wife, a rose lover and an “English rose” herself, was already in rose heaven walking among the more than 600 varieties of roses at the fabulous Tyler (Texas) Rose Garden Center when, towards the end of the visit, she came across her favorite flower named after her favorite singer, Julio Iglesias (photo above).
I like roses, too, and enjoyed the visit, but as had been the case when we visited the equally fabulous Keukenhof gardens in the Netherlands, I was again fascinated by the imaginative appropriateness of the names chosen for these roses as was the case for the tulips.
Looking at the beautiful roses in Tyler and reading the names, the same thought occurred to me as did several years ago at the Keukenhof: If I had to select a name for this particular rose or tulip, I probably would not be able to come up with a more appropriate, more befitting, descriptive and beautiful name — a name that captures the beauty, the color, the appearance, the smell, the heritage, the qualities and even the “personality” of the flower.
There are several articles that discuss how roses are named.
According to one of them, it takes about 10 years to research, develop, and introduce a rose. The rose is initially labeled only with numbers or codes.
In the U.S., the American Rose Society sets several rules on how the breeder of the rose gets to name his or her rose.
Among the rules:
…[the registration committee] requires a letter of authorization from the person after whom the rose will be named. (Difficult in the cases of Mr. Lincoln and John F. Kennedy.) You can’t use the name of another plant genus, so no Dahlia rose. The committee will not approve names containing profanity…
The article mentions that, before the 1950s, roses were named for people — mostly royalty, relatives of the grower, and a few deceased notables. But in the 1950s and 1960s, American rose growers started naming their roses “after Hollywood and TV stars: Arlene Francis, Bob Hope, Audrey Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor, Carmen Miranda, Lucille Ball, Eva Gabor, and Ingrid Bergman”
Another article emphasizes how “all-important” the names chosen for roses are and some of the competing forces: “Breeders usually select a name that helps describe the rose’s heritage. Marketers want a name that will sell and become the next household word.”
The article continues:
Some rose names have stood the test of time, like Peace or Queen Elizabeth. Others, like Knock Out or Flower Carpet have entered the modern vernacular courtesy of clever marketing schemes and widespread availability through retail box stores.
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Some roses boast generic names, such as Carefree Beauty or Avalanche. Generic names usually give clues about the rose’s appearance or ease of growing. Unfortunately, marketers say generically named roses just don’t prove as memorable as names like Barbara Bush or Lucille Ball.
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Some breeders keep a few roses available for private commission, allowing people like you to choose the official name, for a fee. Prices vary, running up to $10,000 or more.
The article mentions, “But there’s just something plain fun about growing a rose named Cuddles, Hot Lips or Banana Split.”
Let me add some of the names of roses we saw at the Tyler Gardens (some photos below): Sheila’s Perfume, the vivid-orange Viva, the red-and-white-striped Marco Polo, the orange Chihuly rose.
A little disappointment for my wife was not finding in the Gardens (or the Tyler area) her favorite rose, the beautiful fragrant, white Pope John Paul II rose, named by the Vatican to honor the late Pope and considered to be one of the most fragrant roses of all time.
While Shakespeare’s proposal that “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet,” is true, many of the names selected for these beautiful flowers certainly add to their beauty and make them even more memorable.
For several not very pleasant reasons this has been a “memorable” week. We may all want to go and smell the roses this weekend.
All photos, except Pope John Paul II rose, by author’s wife.
The author is a retired U.S. Air Force officer and a writer.