Beloved for their beauty and fragrance, roses were cultivated by the Ancient Greeks to make perfumed oils and by the Romans for use in cosmetics, remedies and foods. Today, the rose is a symbol of love and a source of inspiration for garden-ers, painters and poets around the world. On August 1st, 2001, Canada Post will issue four domestic rate commemorative stamps featuring Canadian roses ' Agnes ', ' Morden Centennial ',' Champlain ', and the ' Canadian White Star '.

Cultivars in Canada
Foreign roses were first imported into Canada from France nearly three centuries ago. Around 1890, breeding took place to develop hardier species that were disease-resistant and which would with-stand harsh Canadian winters. William Saunders, founding Director of the Experimental Farms network, established in 1886, was an early Canadian rose breeder.

'Agnes'
In 1900, Saunders crossed the deep-pink wild Asian rose, Rosa rugosa with the yellow-flowered Middle-Eastern ' Persiana ' of R. foetida. This cross bore the hybrid ' Agnes ', which Saunders named after his wife. Seldom affected by disease, the repeat flowering rose is yellow-to-pale amber in colour.

'Morden Centennial'
A medium-pink rose in the Parkland series, the ' Morden Centennial ' was developed in the Research Centre at Morden, Manitoba, and released in 1980 - the year of Morden's centennial. This hardy shrub rose resulted from crossing the ' Prairie Princess ' with a seedling developed from ' White Bouquet ', ' Assiniboine ', and R.Arkansana.

'Champlain'
Introduced in 1982, this hardy dark-red rose is a complex hybrid originating from a cross between R. kordesii and ' Max Graf ', and a seedling originating from a cross between ' Red Dawn ' and ' Suzanne '. Part of the Explorer series, the rose was named in honour of Samuel de Champlain.

'Canadian White Star'
Privately developed by George Mander of Coquitlam, BC, and registered in 1980, the ' Canadian White Star ' has won more than 50 trophies and awards in rose shows in Canada, the USA, and England. This popular rose is grown in diverse regions across the country.

Floral stamp design
Designer Gerry Takeuchi and photographer Alex Waterhouse-Hayward, both of Vancouver, decided to let the topic "speak for itself." The beauty of each rose was emphasized through dramatic full-colour photography and straightforward typography that wouldn't detract from colour and shape. The selected species represent the four pure main rose colours (white, red, pink, yellow), and reflect the diversity of categories, series, and time-lines of rose breeding in Canada. All are connected historically to Quebec, Ontario, the Prairie provinces and British Columbia.