The wild roses that are native to Europe are flat with five petals, much like wild roses elsewhere in the world, and bloom in shades of white and pink. Roses with more petals derive from flowers that originated in the Middle East. Rolfe is a bit before his time in bringing roses back from Outremer—it was Thibaud IV who brought the red Apothecary Rose, or Rose de Provins, to France on his return from the Seventh Crusade in 1250.
These roses were cultivated extensively near Thibaud’s château in Provins, outside Paris, and were renowned for their strong fragrance and rich color. Although not as rounded as the cabbage roses bred in the nineteenth century, Provins roses are sufficiently different from the native wild rose in hue, scent and shape that Annelise—not a gardener, by any means!—woul
