Roses not only provide our gardens and bouquets with incredible beauty and fragrance, but they can also connect us to our families and friends. With a little planning, some know-how and a lot of curiosity you can grow roses that will inspire future connections and smiles.<\/p>\n

The fragrance of an old garden rose always reminds me of my Grandmother who kept a bottle of rose water on hand. The rose water, I assume, was used to dab behind her ears on special occasions or to soothe skin irritations that farm life undoubtably produced. Most likely it was both. I am grateful that fragrance can trigger that memory and turn my thoughts to my hardworking and loving Grandma.<\/p>\n

My parents grow a few fragrant roses in their suburban Maryland garden. Their cultivar names, if they were ever known, have long been forgotten. When I was a child, my mother would cut and gently wrap the thin green stem of one of our roses in a dampened paper towel and then in aluminum foil. I would carry these precious gifts with extreme pride to my elementary school teachers. The school bus ride was always a difficult one for the blossom. I can recall sitting in a high-back vinyl seat holding the crumpled aluminum foil vase tightly in my hand, enjoying the wonderful fragrance and willing the petals to stay attached during the bumpy ride.<\/p>\n