Festival of Roses in Lyon amazes crowds
- 9 years ago
The Festival of Roses in Lyon, France was a chance for the city’s rose fanciers to get together and to admire some of the most beautiful flowers currently blooming.
Lyon’s famous roses
The history of roses in Lyon goes back to 1834, when Jean-Baptiste Guillot established his firm “La Terre des Roses” in the city. The company went on to develop the technique of grafting roses onto eglantine rootstock grown from seeds. This is now used worldwide by all rose breeders. The company also produced the world’s first hybrid tea rose.
Today the company sells a quarter of a million rose plants a year. But they are not the only famous rose growers in Lyon. The city has become well-known as a centre of rose cultivation and is home to many well-established family firms.
Alain Meilland’s family have been cultivating roses in Lyon for decades: “We began in Lyon in 1850, and I’m the 5th generation,” he says.
To Alain Meilland, roses are almost humans, starting their lives as babies, growing
Lyon’s famous roses
The history of roses in Lyon goes back to 1834, when Jean-Baptiste Guillot established his firm “La Terre des Roses” in the city. The company went on to develop the technique of grafting roses onto eglantine rootstock grown from seeds. This is now used worldwide by all rose breeders. The company also produced the world’s first hybrid tea rose.
Today the company sells a quarter of a million rose plants a year. But they are not the only famous rose growers in Lyon. The city has become well-known as a centre of rose cultivation and is home to many well-established family firms.
Alain Meilland’s family have been cultivating roses in Lyon for decades: “We began in Lyon in 1850, and I’m the 5th generation,” he says.
To Alain Meilland, roses are almost humans, starting their lives as babies, growing