Sometime, back in antiquity, the lyrical poet Sappho wrote the following ode* to the rose: “Would Jove appoint some flower to reign, in matchless beauty on the plain; The Rose (mankind will all agree), The Rose the queen of flowers should be.”

As I walked through the Waterfall Atrium and Gardens at The Palazzo, these words came back to me (not in their entirety, sadly; but enough of them that I was able to Google that passage of the poem).  And with good reason; because all summer the Atrium has been abloom with roses – both real and contrived.

It all goes back to 2012, when the Palazzo Rose was christened by the host of ABC’s The Bachelor, Chris Harrison.  Pretty clever casting, that; seeing as his celebrity has been based on the handing-out of roses.  Cultivated in The Netherlands; distributed by prestigious Dutch floral supplier, Reineri; and imported locally by Greenfield & Co.; the Palazzo Rose blooms broadly, due to a high number of deep crimson petals that are, in the words of Reineri’s GM, Peter de Mos, “the deep red color reminiscent of the bricks that create the foundation of a palace – a Palazzo.”  And to whom did the first official arrangement of Palazzo Roses go?  Faith Hill, on the opening night of her and husband Tim McGraw’s limited engagement at the property, Soul2Soul.

Fast forward a few years, and it’s roughly this time, last year.  Then, at St. Mark’s Square, in the Grand Canal Shoppes at The Venetian, comedian Loni Love (a headliner in the property’s Lipshtick series) was on hand to christen the Venetian Rose.  And really giving full-Venetian, Love arriving at the ceremony in a gondola strewn with Venetian Roses.

Now, you probably assumed that, like the Palazzo Roses, the Venetian Roses are cultivated in the Netherlands.  (I did.)  If so, you’d have been wrong.  (I was.)  The Venetian Rose – with its champagne hues and soft peach undertones – is actually cultivated in Ecuador.  Who knew? (Not me, apparently.)

Today, as summer draws to a close, with the mercury dropping to somewhere in the mid-90s (or, as we say ‘round these parts, “Brrrr…  Better grab a jacket!”), you can see both the Palazzo Rose and the Venetian Rose used to full effect in the Palazzo’s previously mentioned Waterfall Atrium and Gardens.  There, as the seasonal floral centerpiece, are a pair of mannequins, each standing some nine feet tall, attired in ballgowns, adorned with festive headpieces.

Earlier this year, six artisans hand-cut and painted some 15,000 rose petals, from recycled paper products.  Then, five designers took those “petals” and created the two figures, standing in a garden of 5,000 real flowers, that includes chrysanthemums and orchids.  Highlighted in this garden, are those mannequins, one featuring Palazzo Roses (facing the escalator and Barney’s New York) and the other featuring the Venetian Roses (facing the Palazzo casino), in both their genuine and ersatz forms.

And while this display is only “up” for another few days, the Palazzo Rose and the Venetian Rose are available through the properties’ floral department.  So, if, like Molly Bloom, in James Joyce’s Ulysses, you’d “love to have the whole place swimming in roses,” – whether you’re getting married in one of the on-property chapels, or just want to send some to a guest – well, then, "Honey," I guess “everything’s coming up roses!” (Or, so sang The Merm.) 

The Palazzo Rose | The Venetian Rose
The Venetian | The Palazzo
Click HERE for info

Get into it!
#Roses

[Editor’s Note: Apparently, whomever translated Sappho’s poem into English used a Latin translation as the source material; which explains why a Greek poet is referring to Jove, and not Zeus.]