In Elizabeth Gaskell’s 1854 novel North and South, the heroine Margaret Hale is very fond of the roses that grow in her hometown in the south of England. In the BBC adaptation of the novel (2004), Mr. Thornton (who is from the north of England) gives Margaret some of the yellow roses he has collected for her. The yellow roses become a symbol of growth and agreement between the two characters.
Elizabeth references yellow roses in her novel Ruth to show a positive change between characters and circumstances. ‘The yellow rose had clambered up to the window of Mr Benson’s bedroom, and its blossom-laden branches were supported by a pear tree rich in autumnal fruit.’
What is the meaning of yellow roses?
Although nowadays yellow roses mean friendship and well wishes, to the Victorians yellow roses were a symbol of jealousy and false love, something which Elizabeth also wrote about in her novel Ruth.
#jokebreak What do you call a flower that runs on electricity?……. A power plant!
Try this at home
Growing plants up a wall is a great thing to do especially if you don’t have much space. You can grow all sorts of plants vertically (up walls or up sticks) including beans, tomatoes and sweet peas.
Beans can be very fast growing (in less than 60 days in some cases) as this time-lapse film shows.
