THE CORONATION FLOWER

Grey River Argus, 20 April 1911, Page 1

THE CORONATION FLOWER

The attempt made to. give the sweet-pea the honour of being the Coronation flower,, met with ' little encouragement. There is undoubtedly a boom in swept-peas. in England just now, . ' Ibut ".the rose was too strongly rooted in popular esteem to be beaten, and, according to the ••Uaily .News,' 7 , the sweet-pea's claim was generally, disregarded by horticulturists.. The. Coronation, from all, accounts, is. to give a great stimulus to rose-growing. Not only are amateurs going- in for the cultivation of the rose with, greater, enthusiasm, but preparations on a gigantic scale have been made by professionals to cope with' the demand that will arise for ttlooms. A Hertfordshire firm—Hertfordshire is sai<3 to be .the greatest rose-growing country — has . planter 50---0 trees, mostly of the rambler type, aV'lti'med to bloom, in June. There will be a great demand, not only for roses for buttonholes, but for curious rose designs. The crown and orb, crown- 'and sceptre, Prince of Wales' s .feathers; guns, triumphal. arcEes, and ships in "full sail — these and many other designs have, been prepared b3 r enterprising nurserymen.- A' journalist who visited the establishment just referred 'to was shown two figures fashioned in baibboo v and wire, each representing the King in His Coronation robes. Rose boughs were skilfully intertwined ;in - the framework, and iri June 'trie structure will be a statue of : the King in roses, a mass of 1500 pink b'iboms extending from the top of the Crown to the feet. The designers hope to train the roses so that his Majesty's profile will be easily recognisable. The bbughs will be carefully watched and pruned in the open until a few. days before the Coronation. Then* they will b"e placed under glass for a final "clean-up" octore they are sent to London to lorm part of a decorative scheme. There are professional rosarians who can train roses round any design imaginable, from a dog to- a Dreadnought. It is even possible to get one's profile done in this favourable flower. The King is said to have declared that a rose is not *a rose at all unless it has a scent, and it is •thought this will lead to a revival of interest in . old scented kinds.