National Red Rose Day

Although Louisa Macculloch (1785-1863) and Empress Josephine of France (1763-1814) lived in completely different worlds during a shared time in history, they are connected through their love of roses.

When Louisa Macculloch moved into her new home in Morristown in 1810, one of the first changes she made to the garden was to add rose bushes. Today, visitors to Macculloch Hall Historical Museum’s historic garden can enjoy the beauty and pleasing scent of many varieties of roses.

While enjoying her garden, Mrs. Macculloch may not have known that Empress Josephine was enjoying the beauty of her rose garden at Chateau Malmaison thousands of miles away. Empress Josephine loved roses. She was actually called Rose by her family, her full name being Marie Josephe Rose Tascher de la Pagerie. She married Napoleon Bonaparte in 1796 and moved to Chateau Malmaison in 1799.

It was in this garden where Empress Josephine enjoyed the over 250 varieties of roses she collected. Her private gardeners helped create and grow a garden containing all known varieties of roses in the western world. Even ships in battle were known to cease fire to allow ships carrying rose plants and seeds to Empress Josephine to pass through unharmed.

Resources:

To learn more about botanical artist Pierre- Joseph Redoute (1759-1840), visit botanticalartandartists.com.

If you need a little help to start your work as a botanical artist, visit this website for drawing tips.