- The York Roses In Our Garden
This past week one of our old-fashioned rose varieties has begun to bloom. It fills the garden with its sweet fragrance during the day but, at dusk when the honeysuckle fragrance is strongest, the rose seems to ‘quiet down’ in deference. I think of the rose as our daytime perfume and the honeysuckle as our choice for evening.
We have always called this particular rose the “York” but I believe it is properly the “York and Lancaster” variety. It is a red and white striped rose and was commonly found in Victorian gardens. It has been in our garden as long as any of us remember and we think that the Crellin family, who built this house in 1869, brought the roses along with their house plans from their native Isle of Man in England.
It’s name, of course, goes back to the War of the Roses during the 15th century when the Royal Houses of York and Lancaster fought for ascendency to the throne of England. The badge of the House of York was the white rose; the badge of the House of Lancaster, the red. Battles between the two factions were fought on and off beginning in 1455 and it was not until 1485 that the two houses were united. The red and white variegated rose, of course, symbolizes that reconciliation.
More importantly to us, they symbolize our victory in our continuing war against the deer people who consider our York roses an especially wonderful variety of candy. This is the first year in a long time that they have left our garden alone. I’m crediting our ‘guard chickens’ with that success.
I remember when the coop was almost finished and the chickens were very young. It’s good to hear the chickens are doing grand work.