Many folks ask me why I write about the Regency period in England, that very brief time from 1811 to 1820, not realizing what a truly vibrant and fascinating era this was. To some degree, I backed into it as my favorite activities, writing and gardening, cross-pollinated and brought new ideas to both. It’s no coincidence that the heroine in my traditional Regency loved roses and smuggled them from France, even in the middle of the Napoleonic wars. I love roses, too, and as my garden expands, I continue to research the Regency for my writing and Old Garden rose varieties for my garden. It’s through my research that I discovered the importance of the Regency period to the development of the modern Hybrid Tea rose.
In 1790, the first China roses were brought to England from the Orient. Why were the China roses so important? While their loose, muddled flowers were not as lush and intensely fragrant as the European varieties, they had one sought-after quality: they rebloomed all season. English plantsmen leapt at the idea of producing a full, fragrant rose like the Damask that bloomed spring, summer and fall the way the China roses did.
Read more:Lesley Anne McLeod.Regency Roses
