Poets have been using roses as symbols of love for a long, long time. But the red rose had other meanings to people throughout history and some of them may, well surprise you. For the medieval Christians, the rose was the symbol of the church. Gothic cathedrals had rose windows to inspire hope and faith in those gazing on them.
Did you know that many Europeans once used the rose as a sign for secrecy. Servants and tavern workers in England wore roses behind their ears as a sign that anything they overheard would not be repeated. When a guest in a German home saw a bowl of roses in the dining room, he or she knew that it was absolutely safe to speak freely, nothing would be leaked out. No one knows for certain why roses have been used as a symbol for secrecy. It is possible that the closed petals of the unopened rosebud suggested something secret to many people, hence the usage.
It really comes as no surprise that the ‘Queen of  Flowers’ as it is popularly called has appealed to kings as well as servants. Egyptian Pharoahs cultivated roses in their palace gardens nearly 5,000 years ago. Many of them had roses buried in their tombs with them. Two famous royal houses of England used two different roses in their coat-of-arms. The House of Lancaster was known by the red rose, and the House of York by the white rose. When these two ambitious families clashed in the 1400’s, the resulting conflict was called ‘The War of the Roses.’ After the families were joined together peacefully, a new hybrid rose was named ‘York and Lancaster’ in their honour.
The ancient Romans made a wine from roses. In the 1700’s, people actually ate rose petals in salads and used essence of roses to flavour icecream!
Closer home Indian Rajas had rose petals strewn on top of their bath water, and rose water and rose oil were used for medicinal purposes for centuries. Gulkand, a tonic made from rose petals, is an excellent digestive aid. Rose petals are strewn on top of sweets and desserts. Today, the fragrant oil from rose petals is used in cosmetics, perfumes and even in the flavouring  of syrups. Rose Hips,the fruits of the rose plant, are an excellent source of Vitamin C and can be taken in tablet form or drunk in tea.

The stuff of legend
But it is strictly as a flower that most people use the rose today. In a book published in 1958, J H Mcfarland listed 7,562 different named roses (there are probably thousand more hybrid ones. The greatest number of roses are grown in India, France and the Balkans, but roses can be found almost everywhere. The blossoms of the beautiful rose range from the delicate bloom of the ancient wild rose to the full, double blooms of many modern hybrid roses. In size these blossoms go from the half-inch miniature rose to the seven-inch-across exhibition roses seen in many flower shows.
The rose, man’s favourite flower for centuries, can be divided into two general classes— Summer Roses, which bloom only once usually in the early summer and the Perpetual Roses, which bloom several times during the season even until late fall. The rose flowers are borne on sturdy bushes or rambling vines. The stems are generally provided with thorns which protect the rose from being eaten by various animals who may find it a delicious dish.
Thorny rambling roses are hardy plants which tolerate most conditions. They make excellent hedges and help control soil erosion along highways, in wildlife preserves and on farmland.
There is a wonderful Greek legend that says Earth first produced the rose to show the Gods that it could equal them in creating a thing of perfect beauty. Whether that story is true or not no one knows for sure, but the red rose is a flower that legends are made of.