A rose by any other name – how roses and cut flowers became a symbol of love and luxury

  • Written by: Peter McNeil, Distinguished Professor of Design History, UTS, University of Technology Sydney
A rose by any other name – how roses and cut flowers became a symbol of love and luxuryWikimedia Commons

Before the creation of international systems of cultivation and the ability to move goods by air freight, flowers matched the pattern of the seasons. Roses on Saint Valentine’s Day were something unexpected, and very expensive.

In very old age, in 1989, the late Queen Mother wrote a letter about her youth:

I remember dancing...

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