The History Gardens

Who doesn't know a garden enthusiast who gets on their knees and counts petals, or a gardener who, with their expertise, is interested in growth forms, soil requirements, plant protection, optimal fertilizer conditions, and the like?

But it's not necessarily big flowers, lots of petals or the health of the plant that brings pleasure and satisfaction. Joy can also be found in a perennial or a plant because it was grandma's.

In Laubjerg's Rose Garden, we have collected roses with history for many years, not only those that are called historical roses in literature, but also roses that have a good story attached to them. Just as a garden is constantly changing and developing, new roses with an exciting story also appear from time to time. Years may pass, but suddenly one comes along that fits into our Rose Garden.

Synonyms: Rosa sancta A. Rich. Non Andr., 'Sancta', 'St. John's Rose', 'The Holy Rose'.
Rosa x richardii is probably a species hybrid between Rosa gallica, provincial rose, and Rosa phoenicia.
It probably originated in Asia Minor or Syria, where both species grow.
It was described by Richard in 1848 in Flora of Abyssinia under the name Rosa sancta,
a – as it later turned out – “taken” name, therefore Rehder gave it its correct Latin name in 1922,
Rosa x richardii Rehder. The selected clone 'Sancta', which is identical to Rosa x richardii,
originates from material that was found in several places near churches and tombs in Ethiopia in the 19th century.
Rosa x richardii is a magnificent rose with a very long, unusually eventful and
interesting history. No other rose can be traced as far back in time as the cultivated rose.
The oldest reliable information about Rosa x richardii comes from tombs in Egypt, dated to the
first centuries AD. The first discovery was made by the English archaeologist Sir William Flinders Petrie.
During an excavation in Hawara, dated to 170 AD, he found several wreaths of plants in a box.
One of the wreaths was made of roses that were so well preserved that Crépin, the greatest rose expert of the time,
later identified it as Rosa sancta, today's Rosa x richardii. In foreign literature
Rosa x richardii is often referred to as "The rose of the Tombs" and "The Holy Rose".
In Sweden the name mumierose is used, while in Denmark it is called mumiekransrose.
In the 4th century, Rosa x richardii was planted near monasteries and churches in Ethiopia.
A story tells that Frumentius, the first bishop of Ethiopia, brought the rose with him from his homeland.
in Syria, when he brought Christianity to Ethiopia in the 4th century. In 1895 Rosa x richardii was
brought from Ethiopia to Europe and entered the trade in England in 1902.
Even today, Rose x richardii can still be found in several places in Ethiopia.
In the palace of Knossos, which was built between 1900 and 1700 BC, many walls are adorned with
of beautiful frescoes. During excavations around the year 1900, several remains of these were found.
The “fresco with the blue bird” depicts several plants and animals, including a rose, which is the oldest
Pictured rose as known to science. The roses are difficult to identify.
Several researchers have attempted to clarify which rose the artist used as a model.
There is much evidence that it was Rosa x richardii; but also Rosa gallica, provincial rose and Rosa canina,
dog rose, have been put forward as possible models.
Lars-Åke Gustavsson
Manager of Frederiksdal Rosarium in Helsingborg
Author of the books: "Rosor för nordiska Trädgårdar", volumes 1 and 2

Danish author Karen Blixen (1885-1962) was a master at composing flower bouquets
She thought flowers were one of the miracles of life and every time she made a bouquet, it was like she was making a flower painting.
Greetings to Aachen Laubjerg's Rose Garden
Varieties and colors were composed as if they were brushstrokes on a canvas.
She was particularly fascinated by the rose and its fragrance. Her bouquets have been photographed
and one picture shows a composition consisting of Gruss an Aachen, blue delphinium in two blue colors,
cornflowers and dog tongue. Blue and white were the favorite colors.
Rungstedlund, a little north of Copenhagen, was her childhood home and it was there that she wrote all of her books.
the return from Africa in 1931. Towards the courtyard there were Gruss an Aachen in the beds, which later disappeared.
Greetings to Aachen - Laubjerg's Rose Garden
When Rungstedlund opened as the Karen Blixen Museum in 1991, the museum received a gift from her secretary,
cand. Mag. Clara Selborn some Gruss an Aachen plants, so that the bouquets that are seen this year
around the museum again has Gruss an Aachen from the garden. Karen Blixen loved roses
and the stories include fragrant flowers, such as in Ehrengard,
published in 1963: “….a scent of unconscious seduction, the rich scent of roses, which in all innocence
entices the passerby to pick the flower.”
Marianne Wirenfeldt Asmussen
Museum Director, Karen Blixen Museum

If it hadn't been for beach warden Kai E. Kristensen and his wife Vera, the Strandingsrosen would probably have been lost. In 1950, Kai E. Kristensen collected the few roses that were left at the remains of his parents' house at Bøvling Dune. Several houses had been expropriated in 1940, as dikes were to be built on the site, and today all the houses are in the sea.
Kai says that the roses were from a Norwegian motor ship named Batavia, which ran aground on December 9, 1923, 1 km north of Thorsminde. The Batavia was on its way from Rotterdam to Oslo with general cargo, spices and several thousand roses, which can still be found in a few places.
The 19-man crew were all rescued ashore. Storms and bad weather delayed the salvage; but on 29/1/1924, the ship was sold at auction for 151,000 kr., including 30 tons of rails. On 1/2/1924, Batavia was towed to Norway when the weather permitted. Knud Klippenberg from Fred. Olsen and Co. says that Batavia was sunk by the Germans on 8/11/1942 on the Cebu River in Morocco, to prevent Allied vessels from reaching Port Lyantey.