• 6 Fascinating Facts About Roses That You Probably Didn't Know

    Roses are red, they're never blue, here are some more rose facts for you! Most people associate roses with love, but these beautiful blooms are more than a Valentine's Day cliché. Roses come in a stunning array of shapes, sizes, and shades, making them a truly diverse flower and a favorite in yards across the country. There are more than 150 types of roses that grow as shrubby plants, climbers, and groundcovers, so you can likely find space somewhere for roses in your garden (just don't forget to stop and smell them). But first, these surprising facts about roses just might give you a fresh perspective on this classic flower.

    1. Roses Are One of the Oldest Flowers
    It's no wonder that roses have been referenced in literature and music for centuries. Archaeologists have discovered rose fossils that date back 35 million years. Even more shocking, the oldest living rose is 1,000 years old. This impressively enduring rose grows on a wall on the Hildesheim Cathedral in Germany.

    2. You Can Eat Roses
    Who knew looking pretty in a vase wasn't the only way to use roses in the kitchen? Their petals are edible and rose water (made from soaking the petals in water) is often added to jellies or jams, or is used as flavoring in Indian and Chinese dishes. Roses also grow a berry-shaped fruit called rose hips. The fruit can be orange, red, dark purple, or even black. Rose hips are packed with vitamin C and can be used in cocktails or dried to create a refreshing tea.

    3. Their Fragrance is Used in Perfumes
    You know the saying: Stop and smell the roses. Well, roses weren't chosen for this phrase by chance; their lovely aroma is a popular floral scent, and is even used in many women's perfumes. Specifically, rose oil has been an important ingredient in the perfume industry for centuries. The process of extracting rose oil from flowers requires a huge amount of roses; just one gram of oil is produced from two thousand r ...
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