for the love of roses - a true antique botanist

I recently visited a nursery that is dedicated solely to rose cultivars.  THOUSANDS of them stretching back in endless rows, each with little star ratings for scent, size of bloom, length of flowering, etc. I had always appreciated the rose as a beloved garden ornament, but I had no idea the scale to which that love bloomed (so to speak!).

Jacques-Louis Descemet, the botanist responsible for ‘le Rosier Eveque’, was a pioneer in the creation of roses and was estimated to have bred close to 10,000 cultivars in his St-Denis nursery.  He likely created some of the specimens I joyfully sniffed at that nursery, 100+ years later.  On the drive back home, the scientist in me pondered the sheer time, patience, and meticulous record keeping (with nary an Excel spreadsheet in sight!) required to bring such astounding beauty and diversity into being.

So thank you, Monsieur Descemet, for your patience and dedication to both science and beauty.  I wonder how amazed you would be to know we still enjoy your creations to this day.

meg.