I fell in love with Rugosa Roses when I was hiking along the rugged coast of Newfoundland. I would stop every 20 feet or so as I walked along the gorgeous ancient cliff edge and bend down to appreciate the sweet fragrance and nectar of the blossoms along side the native bumblebees.
I saved seeds from them and grow them in my garden now (despite them being frowned upon by the priesthood of the local "invasive plants council").
The fragrance is so much more rich than most of the store bought and nursery hybrid rose varieties now. So many are bred for appearance or mass production (shelf life) for greenhouses or easy pruning characteristics for conventional landscapers that their sweet soul nourishing aroma has all but disappeared.
When the company I do landscaping work with prunes the rose hedges of some of their customers with the fragrant varieties (such as Rugosa or old fashion varieties) I like to save the petals, make some extract and also dry some and infuse them into bath salts for my wife. That way something that was going to be thrown into a compost heap can find a new purpose as gift that nourishes, heals and uplifts before it returns to the Earth.
Thanks Gavin! If you ever have an abundance or Rugosa rose seeds I'd love to try to grow a bit here in my medicine garden. That hike in Newfoundland sounds amazing!
Under "ecosystem services" I was curious about animals also eating the hips and I found this reference to Sharp-Tailed Grouse and Grizzly Bears consuming the hips of Woods' Rose (Rosa woodsii).
Awesome! I must admit that segment got a bit of short shrift because the enshittification of google meant that websites that viewed wild rose as a problem to solve took precedence over the information I was actually looking for. I'll have to update a bit as more roles in.
I love this write up. This is one of the most thorough and detailed accounts of the rose that I’ve ever read. 🌹 I used to work in a massive garden, I always noticed that although I really liked all of them, all rose gardeners are just a little bit prickly! Which makes sense to me, as the rose is always teaching me to do the same.
Thank you Hannah, I know what you mean about rose gardeners :) Nearly all of our plant kin have some form of protection:thorns, bitterness, sting, etc. Yet there's a modern conception that we are supposed to be open to or tolerate all sorts of nonsense.
Also Cistus Incanus, Rock rose , breaks up biofilm. I suspect it played a role in the ancient greek development of democracy, because they drank it as a common tea. You see, it makes life very hard for parasites. And a population with low internal parasites will throw of external ones out of sheer healthy vigor.
lots of information and I'm so glad you connected with this deeply powerful medicine. and thank you for such a cohesive collation of her uses. I hope you have a good patch of wandering rose to gather from, to make the medicine. my favourite will always be the rose honey although I do gads of the tincture. I also am inspired by your name, nettle is somewhat of a totem of mine - as I write about here: https://natashaclarke.substack.com/p/the-nettle-in-me
Ooh, always love fellow nettle lovers, I'll check that out. I don't have wandering rose yet, but a colleague of mine passed a couple years ago and as part of my grief ritual for her, I planted some native wild roses, so I am hoping this year will be the year they sprout.
Excellent post!
I fell in love with Rugosa Roses when I was hiking along the rugged coast of Newfoundland. I would stop every 20 feet or so as I walked along the gorgeous ancient cliff edge and bend down to appreciate the sweet fragrance and nectar of the blossoms along side the native bumblebees.
I saved seeds from them and grow them in my garden now (despite them being frowned upon by the priesthood of the local "invasive plants council").
Here is a post a did on Rugosa roses a while back: https://gavinmounsey.substack.com/p/day-five-rosa-rugosa-rose-hips
The fragrance is so much more rich than most of the store bought and nursery hybrid rose varieties now. So many are bred for appearance or mass production (shelf life) for greenhouses or easy pruning characteristics for conventional landscapers that their sweet soul nourishing aroma has all but disappeared.
When the company I do landscaping work with prunes the rose hedges of some of their customers with the fragrant varieties (such as Rugosa or old fashion varieties) I like to save the petals, make some extract and also dry some and infuse them into bath salts for my wife. That way something that was going to be thrown into a compost heap can find a new purpose as gift that nourishes, heals and uplifts before it returns to the Earth.
Thanks for putting this together :)
Thanks Gavin! If you ever have an abundance or Rugosa rose seeds I'd love to try to grow a bit here in my medicine garden. That hike in Newfoundland sounds amazing!
I will look through my collection and see if I have any seeds left.
Ya Newfoundland is really beautiful. The stones are soo full of ancient stories.
I shared some pics from that trip in this post:
https://gavinmounsey.substack.com/p/auspicious-august
Lovely. I needed this. I also have a soon to be first time mother milk cow named Rosie. We have learned a lot together with more to come.
Thank you, I'm glad it was a balm. Give Rosie a little extra nurturing from the roses :)
Great write up! It's a pity how undervalued roses are from a medicinal standpoint.
It's true! Though admittedly I feel that way about most plants :)
I love these profiles you do!
Under "ecosystem services" I was curious about animals also eating the hips and I found this reference to Sharp-Tailed Grouse and Grizzly Bears consuming the hips of Woods' Rose (Rosa woodsii).
https://www.fs.usda.gov/database/feis/plants/shrub/roswoo/all.html#MANAGEMENT%20CONSIDERATIONS
Awesome! I must admit that segment got a bit of short shrift because the enshittification of google meant that websites that viewed wild rose as a problem to solve took precedence over the information I was actually looking for. I'll have to update a bit as more roles in.
Yep I'm quite familiar with that particular kind of enshittification. Quite frustrating.
The database I link to there is a good resource for this kind of info though, and is a regular go-to for me.
This is the main page where you can enter a plant name in a search bar:
https://www.feis-crs.org/feis/
I love this write up. This is one of the most thorough and detailed accounts of the rose that I’ve ever read. 🌹 I used to work in a massive garden, I always noticed that although I really liked all of them, all rose gardeners are just a little bit prickly! Which makes sense to me, as the rose is always teaching me to do the same.
Thank you Hannah, I know what you mean about rose gardeners :) Nearly all of our plant kin have some form of protection:thorns, bitterness, sting, etc. Yet there's a modern conception that we are supposed to be open to or tolerate all sorts of nonsense.
Well, this explains my prickly-ness. 😂
Delightfully prickly, that's you ;)
Also Cistus Incanus, Rock rose , breaks up biofilm. I suspect it played a role in the ancient greek development of democracy, because they drank it as a common tea. You see, it makes life very hard for parasites. And a population with low internal parasites will throw of external ones out of sheer healthy vigor.
Oh, breaks up biofilm! That's fascinating.
it can save your life. also, if you drink the tea, ticks do not want to bite you. According to research done in the black forest on dogs, in germany.
You might enjoy this! https://artemisforestfairy.substack.com/p/a-friendship-that-lasts-eons
Thanks! I think Khalil Gibran and Rumi have been calling me in lately.
2 of my favs!
Gorgeous!
Thank you!
lots of information and I'm so glad you connected with this deeply powerful medicine. and thank you for such a cohesive collation of her uses. I hope you have a good patch of wandering rose to gather from, to make the medicine. my favourite will always be the rose honey although I do gads of the tincture. I also am inspired by your name, nettle is somewhat of a totem of mine - as I write about here: https://natashaclarke.substack.com/p/the-nettle-in-me
Ooh, always love fellow nettle lovers, I'll check that out. I don't have wandering rose yet, but a colleague of mine passed a couple years ago and as part of my grief ritual for her, I planted some native wild roses, so I am hoping this year will be the year they sprout.
I love this. I am exploring all the benefits of roses- not just ingestion but even just being with them this winter. They help in wordless ways.
Definitely, I think they have very strong spiritual powers.