Get Sleepy: Sleep meditation and stories - The Sleepy History of Roses

Starting point is 00:00:00 Welcome to Get Sleepy, where we listen, we relax and we get sleepy. My name's Thomas and it is my honor to be your host. Tonight's tale, beautifully written by Alex Andra, is another of our unique journeys through history. We'll discover the fascinating story of one of the world's most beloved flowers, the rose. Over the centuries, the rose has been used in all kinds of ways and has had so many different meanings. kinds of ways and has had so many different meanings. A rose might represent love, healing or simply the beauty of nature. Just think of the recommendation to stop and smell the roses. It's an invitation to slow down and appreciate the world around us. And that's exactly what our story tonight will invite you to do. It will be read by Elizabeth, who hosts our sibling podcast, The Sleepy

Starting point is 00:01:16 Bookshelf. If you'd like to hear some of the best classic books that she reads there, just search the Sleepy Bookshelf in your podcast player. Tonight's episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. When you're at your best you can do great things, but sometimes life gets you bogged down and you may feel overwhelmed, withdrawn, uncertain, or some other challenging emotions or feelings that are at play within. Working with a therapist can help you get closer to the best version of you, and make you feel empowered to take back control of your mental health with better coping skills and understanding. If you're thinking of giving therapy a try, better help is such a great option. It's flexible, affordable and entirely online. Just fill out a brief

Starting point is 00:02:13 questionnaire and you'll be matched with a licensed therapist, simple as that. If you want to live a more empowered life, therapy can get you there. Visit betterhelp.com slash get sleepy today to get 10% off your first month. That's betterhelp.htlp.com slash get sleepy. Before we begin our story, let's enjoy a short, relaxing visualization. First, make yourself comfortable and close your eyes. In your mind's eye, picture a beautiful rose garden. It's a bright, sunny morning, and you're standing in the middle of this vast green space. All around you are countless roses. There are bushes dotted across the lawns, and wooden trellises covered in bright blooms. The roses come in all shapes, sizes and colours. The bush in front of you as flowers with lush scarlet petals.

Starting point is 00:03:58 But when you look at the plants beyond, you see shades of cream, pink, and even orange. There's a slight breeze in the warm air, and the flowers seem to sway and dance. Watching them fills you with a sense of calm and well-being. You bend down to admire the rose closest to you. The red petals are wrapped around each other in a tight, perfect formation, almost like an embrace. On the outer petals, silvery dew drops glitter in the sunlight. Moving closer to the flower, you breathe in deeply. It's a rich, gorgeous scent, like a most luxurious perfume. Again, you feel so relaxed that you're almost sleepy. Even when you move away, the fragrance of the rose seems to linger. With this new sense of peace, you feel ready to drift off at any moment.

Starting point is 00:05:52 But for now, let's begin our story and discover the history of these elegant flowers. When we admire a rose in blue, we're reminded of the sensory pleasures of the present moment. A rose may also seem like a symbol of impermanence, knowing that it blooms for only a couple of weeks, we have an even deeper appreciation for its transient beauty. In other words, the rose seems to belong to the present. We don't often think of the history of flowers, however roses have a surprisingly ancient history. Although they're not the oldest flowers on the planet, they have been around for a long, long time, at least 35 million years. There is a rose fossil found in the US state of Colorado that's estimated to be at least that whole. that whole. Let's take a moment to put that into perspective. When the Colorado Rose bloomed, dinosaurs had already been extinct for about 30 million years. Pean's first appeared only 300,000 years ago.

Starting point is 00:08:07 That means that the Colorado Rose is closer to the dinosaurs than it is to us. For millennia, roses grew wild across the world, while the oldest confirmed record of cultivation is from China around 500 BCE. It's possible they were being cultivated around the same time in the Mediterranean and Persia. As well as growing wild roses, gardeners began to experiment, cultivating a flower that came to be known as the China Rose. This kind of rose blooms continuously throughout the season and is the ancestor of many modern day plans. Chinese emperors were obsessed with growing roses, according to the philosopher Confucius, who lived in the sixth century.

Starting point is 00:09:21 There were 600 books about rose cultivation in the Imperial Library. This cultural obsession lasted for centuries. During the Han dynasty, a few hundred years later, the flowers were cultivated on a large scale. For a period there was even a shortage of farmland, emperors would fill the palace gardens and surrounding countryside with fields upon fields of roses. Meanwhile, in other parts of the world, roses were being used in different ways. In ancient Greece and Rome, there doesn't seem to have been widespread cultivation as there was in China. Nonetheless, roses still had symbolic significance and were highly valued.

Starting point is 00:10:29 And perhaps it was an ancient Greece that the rose first came to represent love and passion. The Greek goddess of love, Aphrodite and her Roman equivalent Venus were both associated with the rose. In the famous painting The Birth of Venus by Botticelli, the goddess stands in a shell in the ocean, all around her, blown by the wind, a falling pink roses. There are numerous myths about Aphrodite involving roses. In one story, white roses emerge from the sea when she is born. In another, the goddess pricks her foot on a rose thorn, and her blood turns the white petals red. Like Aphrodite, Venus was the deity of roses, love and marriage. In ancient Rome, women would bring roses to her temple as offerings.

Starting point is 00:11:58 The flowers were also often used in bridal bouquets. This may be the origin of the Rose's romantic symbolism, at least in the West. But Rose's also had other associations. For the Romans, they represented confidentiality and secrecy. During private political meetings, a rose would be hung on the door. This later led to another tradition, decorating ceilings of banquet rooms with roses. Even when the guests were subveno under the influence of wine, they were also sub-rosa or under the rose. The roses were a reminder that everything had to remain confidential. Interestingly, this tradition also has its roots in mythology. of love, Cupid once gave a red rose to the God of silence. Cupid wanted Venus' romantic daliances to stay a secret, so he bribed the God of silence

Starting point is 00:13:37 with the gift of a rose. In Roman times, roses also had important ceremonial uses. Across the Roman Empire, there was a festival known as the Rosalio, where garlands of roses and other flowers were placed at burial sites. Here roses represented a different kind of love, a neighbor's symbol of hope and rebirth. There were also showers of rose petals in triumphs for returning generals. Although these ancient ceremonies no longer take place, roses still play a part in religious ceremonies in Rome today. The ancient temple, known as the Pantheon, is now a Catholic church, and every year at Pentecost

Starting point is 00:14:51 there's a special ceremony. Tens of thousands of rose petals rain down through the hole in the ceiling, falling on the marble floor of the church. This magical shower represents the descent of the Holy Spirit. But although roses have long had a spiritual significance, they can also represent something quite different, luxury and decadence. Returning to ancient Rome, there's the infamous tale of Ella Gabbas. He's one of the less famous Roman emperors as he came to power at the age of 14 and reigned for only a few years. According to legend, he was more interested in parties than ruling the empire.

Starting point is 00:16:09 At one notorious dinner party, he arranged for a shower of petals to fall from the ceiling, completely covering his guests. There's a famous painting from the 19th century that depicts the scene at the banquet. The young emperor reclines on a bench, eating and drinking, while his guests disappear beneath a pink sea of rose petals. In another story from ancient times, the Egyptian queen Cleopatra used roses as a theatrical representation of her seductive power. Her bedroom filled, knee deep with rose petals, and it has been said she liked her pillows to be stuffed with them.

Starting point is 00:17:14 Some of these extravagant tales may just be myths, but their examples of how the rose became a symbol not just of love but of luxury. Over time the rose gained value because of its legendary associations as well as its inherent beauty. But there's more to the rose that meets the eye or the nose. Over the centuries and in many different cultures, people have benefited from the flowers' nutritional and medicinal properties. Rose hips, the berries that grow just below the petals, a film of vitamin C. The petals are also believed to have antibacterial and anti-inflammatory qualities.

Starting point is 00:18:30 and anti-inflammatory qualities. In herbal medicine they used to soothe the stomach, heal stress and tension and uplift the mood among other things. The rosar galica, also known as the apothecary's Rose, was often grown in medieval herb gardens. This beautiful fragrant rose with large pink petals was used in medicines and perfumes. and perfumes. By soaking the petals in water, roses can be transformed into oils for fragrances. This technique was used not just in Europe, but in parts of Asia and particularly in Iran. and particularly in Iran. For hundreds of years, the people of Iran have extracted essential oil from rose petals. The oil is used for perfumes and incense, while the byproduct, rose water, is a common ingredient in food and drinks as well as cosmetics. From herbal remedies to fragrant perfumes, the rose has many practical uses, but for gardeners

Starting point is 00:20:01 today it's mainly prized for its ornamental beauty. And in Western culture, the rose tends to be viewed first and foremost as a romantic symbol. traditional Valentine's gift it features in countless poems and songs. Interestingly, the reasons for the Rose's modern-day status can be traced back to one specific garden. It's the garden of the Chateau de Mmeisau, about 15 km west of Paris. Purchased in 1799, this grand manor house was the residence of Josephine, wife of Napoleon in the early 19th century. While Napoleon was at work overseas, Josephine kept herself busy working on the house and gardens.

Starting point is 00:21:20 She had grown up on the Caribbean island of Martinique, and perhaps for this reason, she had an interest in collecting plants and animals from all over the world. In her letter she wrote that she aimed to create the most beautiful and curious garden in Europe, and a model of cultivation. Josephine grew all kinds of exotic plants and even built a heated greenhouse for her pineapples. She also had a collection of animals, including kangaroos, zebras, and ostriches which were allowed to roam the grounds. At the time, guests to the chateau were probably most impressed by their encounters with Josephine's pants, but the true legacy of Malmaison was its extraordinary rose garden.

Starting point is 00:22:38 Josephine, who was also known as Rose, was an avid collector. The Rose was her favourite flower. With the help of an expert's team of gardeners and bossenists, she filled the grounds of Malmaison with around 250 varieties of rose. She wanted to collect every rose in existence. Napoleon even ordered the French navy to confiscate seeds and flowers from any ships they seized so they could be sent to Josephine. Josephine's Rose Garden was immortalized in various artworks, and it provided inspiration for other gardeners and rose breeders in Europe. It could be considered one of the world's first and most influential rose gardens. Before Josephine was unusual to have a garden dedicated to a single type of flower. Josephine's vast and varied collection also had another important benefit.

Starting point is 00:24:08 It contained ever-blooming roses from China. Unlike other roses grown in Europe, China roses bloomed repeatedly. This gave them an added value and commercial potential. Water cultureists experimented breeding different kinds of roses. Then in the 19th century, The hybrid T-Rose was created in France. This kind of rose could be considered the classic rose. Its fragrant, robust, beautifully shaved, and blooms again and again. The hybrid T-Rose also grows on a long stem, making it easy to cut and present as a single flower. These long stemmed roses associated with romance and Valentine's Day could be said to originate from Josephine's garden. In directly, the Empress played an important part in creating the modern day rose industry.

Starting point is 00:25:54 To sum up, the romantic symbolism of the Rose developed over the last 2000 years. In the West, the flowers association with love most likely originated with the Greek goddess Aphrodite and her Roman counterpart Venus. Centuries later, taking inspiration from Empress Josephine's garden, Horticulturalists created the hybrid T-Rose. This flower had some of the best qualities of both European and Chinese roses. It became a popular romantic gift with commercial appeal. The Victorian tradition of giving flowers as meaningful gifts also helps to increase the popularity of roses, but the story doesn't end there.

Starting point is 00:26:55 Gardeners continue to grow and create new kinds of roses. They experiment with different varieties, just like the horticulturalists that were inspired by Josephine's roses. To create a new rose, the gardener wants to grow a flower with a particular shade of pink and a strong, sweet fragrance. Once she's chosen the flowers, she takes the pollen from the parent roses and mixes them just as a bee wood in nature. This cross-pollination leads to the formation of a rose hip, the berry containing the seeds. Once the rose hip has ripened, the seeds are extracted and stored and then sown in the greenhouse.

Starting point is 00:28:21 When the gardener finds some seedlings that look promising, she plants them outside to see how they grow in the garden. This process is repeated over and over again, focusing on the seedlings with the desired characteristics. Professional breeders sometimes experiment with up to 100,000 crosses. It can take years to produce just a handful of new rose hybrids. They come in all colours from crimson red to pastel pink and have names as beautiful as the petals themselves. Moonstone, lavender symphonies, velvet fragrance and many more. And all the wild as an ancient rose bush that continues growing, blooming year after year. Unlike the careful creations of the rose breeders, this bush is a product of pure nature.

Starting point is 00:29:51 It's known as the Thousand Year Rose, and it grows up the wall of Hildishim Cathedral in Germany. in Germany. This bush is nothing like the long-stemmed Valentine's Rose or the neatly pruned bushes that grew in Josephine's garden. It's a wild, sprawling plant that climbs up the brick wall of the church. This 10 meter tall shrub is a kind of dog rose. For most of the year, resembles a tangle of vines or an overgrown tree. But once a year in late May, it produces beautiful, light pink blooms with a delicate fragrance. This plant is called the Thousand Year Rose because it's believed to date back to the cathedral's construction in the 9th century. According to legend, one day in the middle of summer, an emperor found a snowy mound covered by a rose bush.

Starting point is 00:31:26 He decided to build a cathedral in exactly this spot, around the bush. The rose bush continued to grow over the centuries, but even survived the bombing of the cathedral during the Second World War. The beauty of most flowers is brief and fleeting, but somehow the thousand-year rose seems to be eternal. Each year, the blooms appear and disappear, yet they always come back. It's a symbol of hope and rebirth. And perhaps this is the true beauty of the Rose, not just the vibrancy of its petals, or its heavenly fragrance, but what the flower means to all of us.

Starting point is 00:32:45 The essence of the rose lives on. It is enduring as the first ancient flower, the rose that bloomed 35 million years ago. you you you you ... ... you you you you you I'm going to do a little bit of the same thing. I'm going to do a little bit of the same thing. I'm going to do a little bit of the same thing. I'm going to do a little bit of the same thing. I'm going to do a little bit of the same thing. ... you ... you you you you

Get Sleepy: Sleep meditation and stories - The Sleepy History of Roses

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.