“Memory believes before knowing remembers.
Believes longer than recollects, longer than knowing even wonders.”
~ William
Faulkner
~
1897-1962
~ Southern American author,
Nobel Prize Laureate
The grace, beauty and memory of The Old South
dreamily bloom in this beautiful pink Confederate Rose on an October morning in
the Lowcountry of Beaufort County, South Carolina.
The Legend Of The Confederate Rose
Once the Confederate Rose was pure white.
During the Civil War, a soldier was fatally wounded in battle. He fell upon the
rose as he lay dying. During the course of the two days he took to die, he bled
more and more on the flower, till at last bloom was covered with his blood.
When he died, the flower died with him. Thereafter, the Confederate Rose (or
Cotton Rose), opens white, and over the course of the two days the bloom lasts,
they turn gradually from white to pink to almost red, when the flower finally
falls from the bush.
The Confederate Rose or hibiscus mutablis
is actually a Chinese import. Brought into English gardens in the 1600’s, it is
said to have gained favor in the South due to its ease of cultivation during
the hard financial times after the Civil War. The hibiscus mutablis is a member
of the hibiscus family which includes both the tropical hibiscus and the
hardier Rose of Sharon. It is considered a large bush or a small multi-stemmed
tree. The plant roots easily from cuttings and grows vigorously
during the summer. Once established it is drought resistant. The blooms appear
in the fall.
