Origin of the Tea roses

The origin of the Tea roses starts in China in the early 19th century. An agent of the East India Company brought back Rosa x Odorata from the Fa Tee nursery in Canton, China. This rose was sent back to Romford garden of Sir Abraham Hume. He named it after his wife so "Hume's blush". Sadly nobody cared about asking the name of this rose at the nursery.

Fourteen years later John Dampier Parks brought back Rosa Odorata ochroleuca from the same Fa Tee nursery while he was collecting plants for the Royal Horticultural Society (Although she wasn't yet royal back then). The rose was renamed "Park's Yellow"

So both Hume's blush and Park's Yellow were crossed with other China's, Bourbons and Noisettes and so the Tea roses were born.

There still remains confusion or a mystery why they were called Tea roses. The most popular explanation is that of the flowers smelling like a fresh opened can of Tea leaves. But another explanation is gaining more attention: They were named after the nursery the original parents came from so Fa Tee became Tea. 

Sadly, both Hume's blush and Park's Yellow were lost already in the 19th century but their offspring would conquer the rose world by storm... 

Hume's Blush 

Park's Yellow