^ The Scented Cjarden fj£ 



Of the history of the rose during the last century much 

 has been written. Much too of the rose in art and its use 

 as an emblem. The rose is indeed indissolubly linked with 

 the history of the human race. Since 1461 it has been 

 the emblem of this nation. In Henry VIFs chapel, in 

 Westminster Abbey, wherever one looks there is the 

 Tudor Rose ' looking down from the balconies of 

 heaven, companying with angels and archangels, token 

 of perfect beauty.' 



1 Dry roses put to the nose to smell do comfort the 

 brayne and the herte and quickeneth the spryte.' To 

 those of us who love the old roses there is no fragrance 

 to equal theirs. It is from their petals that the sweetest 

 potpourris are made. We cannot improve on the old 

 instructions for gathering and drying roses. ' In summer- 

 time when roses blowe gather them ere they be full- 

 spred or blowne out, and in drie weather pluck the 

 leaves.' 



They should be gathered before they are full-blown 

 because full-blown flowers when dried retain neither 

 their colour nor their perfume. They should be 

 gathered on a sunny day when the dew has dried off 

 them and spread out on sieves, for this ensures quicker 

 drying than laying the petals out on tables or trays. 

 No bought potpourri is so pleasant as that made from 

 one's own garden, for the petals of the flowers one has 

 gathered at home hold the sunshine and memories of 

 summer days, and of past summers only the sunny days 

 should be remembered. 



It was formerly the custom also to dry flowers in sand. 

 Sir Hugh Piatt, in his Delights for Ladies (1594), says, 

 1 You must in rose-time make choice of such roses as are 

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