g$ The Scented Qarden ffe 



nuns, passed with them through the garden and the King 

 subsequently left peaceably. We have, alas ! no records 

 to tell us which were the roses grown in the numerous 

 monastic gardens, but roses were so largely used for 

 medicinal purposes that they must have been grown in 

 abundance. The ' roser ' in mediaeval days was part of 

 the herb garden. Fortunately we have not yet lost the 

 pleasant habit of growing roses in our kitchen gardens, and 

 the ' old ' roses always look at home there. As Chaucer 



wrote : 



1 For nothing liken me might more, 



Than dwelling by the Roser aye, 

 And then never to pass away.' 



It is impossible to say when the roses which have been 

 famed for centuries were first grown in England. They 

 may have been introduced and lost several times in the 

 troublous days of old. Hakluyt tells us that the Damask 

 rose was brought by ' Doctor Linaker, King Henry the 

 seventh and King Henrie the eight's Physician.' Cer- 

 tainly no rose was more esteemed for fragrance in Tudor 

 and Stuart days. Parkinson says of the Damask rose : 

 * The flowers are of a fine deep blush colour, as all know, 

 with some pale yellow threads in the middle ... of the 

 most excellent sweet pleasant sent, far surpassing all other 

 Roses as Flowers, being neyther heady nor too strong, 

 nor stuffing or unpleasant sweet, as many other flowers.' 



There are still many varieties of the Damask rose 

 grown, their colours ranging from pure white to the 

 deepest red. The most famous variety perhaps is the 

 York and Lancaster. The true York and Lancaster rose 

 is not striped red and white like Rosa Mundi and some 

 other Gallic a roses, but has an occasional red petal. The 

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