Crimson & Green & Rose

Crimson is the mature Damascena — the deep vivid crimson of the Rosa damascena flowers at the most mature stage of the brief harvest window. Rosa damascena (the Damask rose — from the city of Damascus in Syria, where the rose is traditionally associated, though its actual center of origin is disputed — it is a complex hybrid, likely between Rosa gallica and Rosa phoenicia, first described in European botanical literature from the 16th century) is the most important species for commercial rose oil production. The Rosa damascena flower at full maturity (approximately 3-4 days after the bud begins opening) reaches its maximum depth of color — a deep rose-pink to crimson — and simultaneously reaches its maximum fragrance (the volatile compounds that create rose fragrance are released at maximum rate at full flower maturity). The Bulgarian harvest window: Rosa damascena flowers must be harvested within approximately 10-14 days in late May (typically May 15-31 in the Kazanlak valley), and must be collected by hand within 12 hours of dawn — each flower must be picked while the dew is still present (which is the most optimal condition for maximum oil content in the petals). Approximately 3-4 tonnes of rose petals are required to produce 1 kilogram of rose attar (the 'Otto of roses' or 'attar of roses') — the most concentrated and most expensive naturally derived fragrance material in the world. Rose is the Damascena pink — the vivid medium rose-pink of the Rosa damascena flower in its standard coloration — the most universally recognized and most widely associated color with 'rose' as both the flower and the color name. The typical Rosa damascena flower has between 30 and 60 petals (in the 'Trigintipetala' cultivar — 'thirty-petaled,' the most widely planted Bulgarian variety, though it actually has 30-45 petals) of a specific deep rose-pink — not as dark as crimson, not as pale as tea-rose pink. This specific vivid medium rose-pink is the color from which the color name 'rose' (as a color) derives — used as a color name in English from at least the 14th century. Green is the valley — the vivid mid-green of the rose bushes and the broader Kazanlak valley landscape. The Valley of Roses lies in the sub-Balkan valley between the Balkan Mountains (Stara Planina) to the north and the Sredna Gora mountains to the south, at an altitude of 330-550 meters above sea level. The specific microclimate of the Kazanlak valley — the combination of the Balkans' moisture-retaining mountain air, the fertile alluvial soils, and the specific temperature pattern (cool nights, moderately warm days during the May bloom period) — is universally considered the optimal environment for Rosa damascena cultivation and the most concentrated rose oil production. The valley landscape during the harvest season is one of the most spectacular agricultural landscapes in Europe: row upon row of rose bushes (each approximately 1-1.5 meters tall and 1 meter wide), their vivid green foliage studded with thousands of rose-pink and crimson flowers, extending over approximately 18,000-20,000 hectares of cultivated area.