Heirloom beauties add grace and charm to this entryway. Roses have existed and changed in many cultures for thousands of years through different cultivation methods.

On Crete, in the Mediterranean Sea, there are depictions of roses in frescoes at the Minoan palace of Knossos. The frescoes date from around 1500 B.C. Early Moors valued roses, and their ephemeral beauty is alluded to in the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, the Persian poem written around 1120. Some claim Northern Persia as the birthplace of cultivated roses.

Ancient Greeks and Romans wrote about preparing beds for planting and growing roses. Greek mythology alleges the birth of the red rose occurred when Aphrodite, hurrying to aid her lover Adonis who had been gored by a wild boar, stepped on the thorns of a white rose. The blood from the torn flesh of her feet turned the flowers of the plant red. The word Rosa can be traced to the Greek rodon (red).

By 1400, roses were established in medieval gardens. The English Civil Wars of the Roses between the houses of York and Lancaster began in 1455. The emblem of the House of York was the white rose, while the Lancasters displayed the red rose as their symbol.

Today's repeat blooming roses can be traced back to R. chinensis, which arrived in England from China in 1789. The first cultivar of R. chinensis, "Parson's Pink China," was sent to a French colony on the Indian Ocean around 1810, where it crossed naturally with an old European rose called R. x damascena Bifera. The result was the first Bourbon rose in 1817. This accidental cross combined the beautiful blooms of the European rose with the repeat flowering of the Chinese roses.

Roses are found throughout literature, language, song lyrics and even occur in architecture. The Gothic rose window in churches is a decorated circular window, frequently glazed with stained glass. The colors of roses have been assigned special meaning. The traditional message of the red rose is "I love you," but the red rose also can signify courage and respect. Pink roses symbolize grace and sophistication, while yellow, in some cultures, can suggest jealousy and infidelity. Roses have been and continue to be used for medicinal and cosmetic purposes. Tea made from crushed rose hips might help ease digestive problems or relieve cold and sore throat symptoms. Rose water or oil can be added to face and body creams or used as a facial toner.

The key to successfully growing roses is the same as effectively growing any plant — determine the individual requirements for your specific plant. Roses require adequate sun, a minimum of 6 hours; sufficient water, 1 to 2 inches per week; and a balanced fertilizing program. When choosing your roses, be sure to consider the size and location of your chosen spot, and fit the correct rose into that space.

Roses come in a very wide variety of colors, sizes, fragrances and bloom cycles. While Hybrid Tea roses are the most common, consider branching out a bit and trying some of the older varieties of roses. These heirloom beauties can range in size from delicate and diminutive to actual tree climbers, and most are very fragrant. These include Hybrid Perpetual, Hybrid Musk, Bourbon, Polyantha, Alba, Moss, Gallica, Rugosa, and Portland.

Bloom colors include golden yellow, deep magenta, rich pink, pale blush white and even slate gray-purple.

Bloom sizes also vary. Some are fairly dainty like the petite polyantha Marie Pave, and some are quite large and very full of petals as is the very popular Madmoiselle Isaac Perier. The most spectacular might well be a rose named Alfred Columb with long arching canes that hold an abundance of fragrant strawberry red blooms that are magnificent sprawling across a white picket fence marking a garden's edge.

Depending on the class, some of the heirloom roses bloom only once per year, while others repeat bloom through the summer. Don't be discouraged from planting the once-bloomers because they bloom with real pizzazz. These bushes will be simply awash in fragrant blooms, and most will continue that way for a period of several weeks. To continue the show for the rest of the season, simply intersperse these once bloomers with the repeat blooming varieties, and you will have a truly spectacular rose garden and one that is truly unique.

These Grande Dames of the rose world are not usually found in the local nurseries but can be readily obtained from many quality online nursery sites.

Lorene Moore and Susan Struthers are Penn State Master Gardeners from Butler County.