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Dog Rose (Rosa canina)

By Sarah Head

The wild rose or dog rose is an intrinsic part of the hedgerow. We smile when we see the small pink-tinged petals in early summer then forget about the plant until autumn when bright red rosehips glow amidst the leaves.

I have never seen so many roses as have blossomed this year. Every hedge and tree seems to be covered by this scrambling rose. The scent is subtle but unmistakable and collecting petals is a joyful way to spend a quiet hour or so either in sun or twilight.

Take care when removing the petals from the flower, cup your fingers around the centre, so the important part which will grow into next autumn's rosehip is not damaged. Rose petals can be easily dried if spread on paper or newspaper and laid in a warm, dark place until completely dry. Keep away from light or all the colour will be leached away and the petal will loose its efficacy. Dried petals can be used for pot pouris with other dried blossoms, but there are many other recipes you can make as well.

Rose Water

This recipe comes from from "Opening Our Wild Hearts to the Healing Herbs" by Gail Faith Edwards. Gail is a US herbalist from Maine .

She suggests picking blossoms on a sunny day when their scent is at its peak. Put into a stainless steel or enamel pot and cover with fresh spring or distilled water. Cover and slowly heat to just below a simmer. Turn the heat as low as it will go and continue heating for about ten minutes tightly covered. Turn off the heat and allow all to sit, covered, overnight. In the morning, strain the fragrant rose water off. Add a quarter of the volume in alcohol as a preservative. Bottle and keep in a cool dark place.

Rose water can be splashed all over the body to tone and refresh. As a wash, it can help heal acne. It can also be used in cooking and Gail suggests adding it to pound cake.

Rose Petal Cleanser

This recipe comes from Tammy Herring, a herbalist in the US.

Fill a glass jar with dried or fresh rose petals and cover with distilled witchhazel (available from the chemist). Use a chopstick to stir the mixture to remove any air bubbles, then refill the jar so all petals are covered. If you leave the petals uncovered they will go brown within a couple of hours.

Seal the glass jar with a screwtop lid, label and date. Leave the jar to infuse in a cool, dark place for a couple of weeks. Strain and pour back into the original dark glass witchhazel bottles. You may find the scent from fresh rose petals is not strong or even non existent, so it might be worth adding some dried rose petals and re-infusing for two further weeks after you have strained the fresh rose petals. Apply to your face with soaked cotton wool pads.

Illustration of dog rose petals and hips

Rose petal vinegar using petals and rose leaves

Rose Petal Vinegar

This recipe comes from the American herbalist Kiva Rose

Fill a jar halfway full with dried rose petals or leaves, or to the top with fresh petals and/or leaves. Cover with cider vinegar. Stir with a chopstick to remove any air bubbles, then refill so all the plant material is covered. Seal the bottle with a screwtop lid, label and date. Place in a warm, dark place. Let it infuse for at least two weeks, and preferably six weeks. Strain and bottle. Label and date.

Rose vinegar can be used to take the heat out of sunburn or other burns.

As summer wanes, petals fade and rosehips grow into familiar red lozenges. Packed with Vitamin C, rosehip syrup has always been a classic tonic for children.

When I was a child in the 1950s, the Government offered to pay country school children 3d for every pound of rosehips picked. I remember watching my mother, who was the infant teacher in a two-roomed Cotswold school, weighing out the rosehips and bagging them up for collection and giving out the cherished 3d bits. She wouldn't allow my sister or I to collect the rosehips as she thought the money offered was too little for the amount of effort involved!

Rosehips need to be picked while they are still firm if you are going to dry them. They can be dried whole, but the “official” way is to cut the hip in half, remove the seeds and then dry. This can take a month or so in a paper bag hanging in an airing cupboard. Take care as rosehips seeds are the original “itching powder” and can cover your hands very quickly.

Rosehip Syrup

This is the general syrup recipe from Non Shaw and Christopher Hedley's “Herbal Remedies”

1 l (2 pints) water
40 g (1 1/2 oz) dried rosehips or 100 g (4oz) fresh chopped rosehips
450 g (1 lb) sugar

Put the rosehips in water in a saucepan with the lid on, bring them to a boil, then let them simmer for 20-30 minutes, strain. Clean out the saucepan, pour liquid back into it, let it sit uncovered on minimum heat until you only have 2 dl (7 fl.oz) left. Add sugar, simmer until sugar has dissolved, pour into jars, label. (This takes time. 1 fluid ounce evaporates about every hour.)

The hips of the dog rose - Image from wikipedia.

Rosehip & Apple Jelly

Use rosehips and windfall cooking apples – whatever quantities you have to hand. Chop roughly without peeling or coring, Cover with water and juice from two lemons and simmer until soft. Place cooked puree in a jelly bag or tie up in muslin or a clean, old, cotton sheet over a large bowl. Let all the liquid drip into a container overnight. Do not be tempted to squeeze the bag while it is dripping or the jelly will be cloudy. Measure the amount of liquid gathered. Add 1lb sugar for every pint of liquid in a large saucepan. Boil furiously until a setting point is reached. Pour into hot jars, cover in the normal way, label and date. The jelly is a beautiful pink colour and tastes wonderful.

Sarah Head is a member of The Herb Society and a regular contributor to our forum and website. She offers training on coping with bereavement to professionals all over the country. And also runs herb workshops and grows over 100 herbs in two gardens in Solihull and the Cotswolds.

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