Rosa Centifolia (or "Cabbage Rose")
Lately, I can't get enough rose. It's an actual craving. Of course, there is my beloved (and quite heavy) jug of rose hydrosol that should last through the summer, as well as a little pot of rose ink (!) made of crushed organic rose petals and added oils, found here.
I collect different rose oils - rosa bourbon from India, rose damask from Bulgaria, rose otto from Turkey, rose from Russia, rose from Morocco - rose oil ages exquisitely, and I love knowing that even when I'm resting and not working, the glorious rose oils in their amber bottles, tucked safely away in the cool apothecary cabinet, are transmuting all on their own . . . i almost think of them (semi-abstractly) as slowly caramelizing . . .
Just sprung for an outrageously expensive bottle of the famed "Rose de Mai" (species rosa centifolia, pictured) from France. I'd been holding off for months until I just . . . couldn't . . . takeitanymore!
"The rose carries the meaning of purity or heavenly, passion, transmutation, completion, of consummate achievement and perfection in addition to being an ancient symbol of joy. The Persian poet Sa’adi of Shiraz wrote of the rose garden as a garden of contemplation. Today most people think of the rose as a symbol for love. It is all of these meanings."
-Bettye Johnson
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2 comments:
I adore roses, too. On a recent walk, my fiance and I enjoyed sniffing different roses in a neighbors yard. I was amazed at the variety of scents. Rose de Mai sounds heavenly!
bottom line: he's a keeper! ;-)
it's funny, because although they're all identifiable as "rose," it's true; they're distinct. i've only studied the chemical composition of flowers a tiny bit - barely enough to mention - but it's interesting to witness on paper how the different molecular composition of one to the other can make a subtle yet very perceptible difference.
thought i much prefer to step away from the science and just experience the scents!
rose de mai is really an amazingly distinct one, indeed. you'll need to experience it at some point!!
xx.n
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