The Loyalist Rose



Known as an antique rose and identified as "Maiden's Blush" of the Rosa Acra Family, The Loyalist Rose has had a remarkable journey through the centuries. It is illustrated in many Renaissance paintings, notable Botticelli's "Birth of Venue".

The plant was taken to England from Damascus during the Crusades. In 1773, John and Mary Cameron brought roots of the rose bush with them when they emigrated from their native Scotland to Sir William Johnson's estates in western New York.

In 1776, John Cameron took up arms on the side of the British in the American Revolution. After Britain lost that struggle, Cameron and his family joined the great tide of Loyalists leaving the original Thirteen Colonies. The family gathered up what possessions they could carry including roots of the Maiden's Blush.

They carried the rose plant with them on the 230-mile trek over the Appalachians before settling in the Cornwall area. The rose proved to be a treasured possession and, in many ways, was an important component of their survival in the wilderness of Upper Canada. From its flowers, stalks, leaves and tips, the pioneers made medicines, tea and many delicacies.

Two hundred years later, in 1976, Ethel Macleod, a descendant of John and Mary Cameron, registered "The Loyalist Rose" with the International Registration Authority for Roses and donated the plant to The United Empire Loyalists' Association of Canada to mark the bi-centennial of the American Revolution and the coming of the Loyalists to British North America (Canada).

The Loyalist Rose has a cupped, very doubled fragrant flower ranging in colour from a pale pink to almost white. The bushy plant has dense foliage and blooms well in June.