Roses in Greece

Let's start with a famous song by Bobby Vinton "Roses are red Violets are blue", 1962 hits.

A rose is a woody perennial of the genus, Rosa within the family of Rosaceae. There are over 100 species of Rosa. Roses can be herbs, shrubs and trees. For the first time in my life, what I saw in Greece is a Rose Tree, so tall and full of healthy roses welcoming a summer season in 2008.

It was a trip back to Athens from Delphi, where the bus made a quick stopped for toilet. It was a dream come true for me to go so near and admiring a beautiful creation of Almighty when the bus driver suddenly stopped for about 5 minutes.

Rose plants range in size from compact, miniature roses, to climbers that can reach 7 meters in height. Different species hybridize easily, and this has been used in the development of the wide range of garden roses. The garden roses is what I encountered in here, so graceful and stunning.

The name rose comes from french, itself from a Latin word, Rosa, which perhaps borrowed from Greek word wrodon. In Malaysia, we called rose as "Mawar".

Roses form a group of plants that can erect shrubs, climbing or trailing with stems that are often armed with sharp prickles. Its flower vary in size and shape and are usually large and showy in colours. Most species are native to Asia, with smaller numbers native to Europe, North America and Northwest Africa.  Species, cultivars and hybrids are all widely grown for their beauty and often are fragrant. 

Below photos are red roses that I saw in Epidaurus Colosseum courtyard. Beautifully blossom and melted my hearts.