Gallery of Roses

Tired of looking at roses yet? By the end of this post you will be!

The rose gardens are exploding with flowers. There's about to be a brief hiatus of my Rose of the Day feature, for reasons that will soon become apparent. So today I'm offering a large bouquet of them.

Rose of the Day: White rugosa.



Rose of the Day: Shailers Provence, Gracilis.



I often call this Boursault rose my "favourite," partly because it is so lovely, fragrant and floriferous. And mostly because the giant bushes started as rooted cuttings sent to me by my mother.

Rose of the Day: Rosa canina.



The common dog rose, which grows in hedgerows in the British Isles. Its soft fragrance is reminiscent of apples.

Rose of the Day: Isphahan.



This photo is not at all characteristic because the unfolding bud looks like a hybrid tea or other modern rose. In fact, it will become a blowsy, fluffy blossom, exquisitely scented. A truly ancient rose, which for centuries has been--and still is--used for making perfume in Persia (now Iran).

Rose of the Day: Henry Kelsey.



A hardy Canadian climber, vibrantly red.

Rose of the Day: Autumn Damask, Perpetual Damask, Four Seasons Rose.



The only repeat-blooming rose prior to the introduction of China roses in the late 18th century. Talk about ancient--the rose historians say this rose grew in Biblical times, and was cultivated by the Romans.

Rose of the Day: Rosa alba semiplena



Another very old rose, known in medieval times.

Guest Blogger: Anita Davison and Royalist Rebel

I'm delighted to welcome author Anita Davison/Anita Seymour to Periodic Pearls. I've read and enjoyed her historical novels (we share an interest in the 17th century and historical biographical fiction.) In the autumn I had the pleasure of meeting her in person and expressing my admiration--we both attended the Historical Novel Society conference in London.

Her latest novel, Royalist Rebel, is newly released.

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During the early days of the English Civil Wars, Elizabeth Murray lived at Ham House on the River Thames near Richmond with her mother and three younger sisters while her father, William Murray, was a Gentleman of the Bedchamber at the exiled court of Charles I in Oxford.

In the winter of 1643 as the war edged closer, Catherine Murray took her daughters to Oxford, where they lived amongst impoverished and dispossessed Royalists gathered round King Charles, who plotted to regain London and his throne.

Reputed to be Oliver Cromwell’s mistress as well as a spy for the Royalist secret organisation The Sealed Knot, Elizabeth married twice and died in 1698 at 72 years old, alone, embittered and impoverished in her beloved Ham House. Vilified by society and abandoned by her children, the triumphs of her remarkable life largely forgotten.



If you visit Ham House, which has been restored to the way it looked during Elizabeth’s lifetime, this is the woman the guides talk about; an irascible, embittered widow stripped of her glory and reduced to genteel poverty in her beloved childhood home. They run ghost evenings at Ham, where tales of sightings of the old lady’s spirit that roams the mansion tapping the floors with her stick, her small dog at her side while the scent of attar of roses permeates her favourite rooms announcing her presence.

In the gallery is this portrait of Elizabeth, painted by Sir Peter Lely when she was eighteen. This was the young woman I wanted to discover and subsequently began writing about - the beautiful, intelligent and passionate young girl on the verge of womanhood who was dedicated to Ham House, the Royalist cause and the men in her life; her father William Murray, son of a minister who rose to become King Charles’ friend and confidant, Lionel Tollemache, her husband of twenty years who adored her, Oliver Cromwell who was fascinated by her, and John Maitland, Duke of Lauderdale, Charles II’s favourite on whom he heaped honours and riches, only to ostracise him after a bitter quarrel.

Royalist Rebel is the story of that girl.

Anita Seymour Davison, January 2013

Anita’s Blog The Disorganised Author
Royalist Rebel Blog
Ham House Website
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Thanks so much, Anita, for visiting, and all best wishes on the launch!