With roses blooming in every garden, May and June are the rosiest, most romantic months of the year. But roses have also been blooming in the medicine chest for centuries. Pliny the Elder (writing in A.D. 76) reported that the rose was used in the treatment of 32 ailments, including toothache, insomnia, stomach ache, and "cleansing of the mind." Arab apothecaries used syrup of roses to stimulate sexual desire, medieval monks brewed infusions of rose petals to treat coughs, and early tourists found conserve of roses a tasty cure for seasickness. During World War II, when citrus was hard to get, rosehips (rich in vitamin C) proved a useful substitute. (Source: The Love of Roses: From Myth to Modern Culture, by Graham Rose and Peter King)

A Bag to Smell Unto
"Take drie Rose leaves, keep them close in a glasse which will keep them sweet, then take powder of Mints, powder of Cloves in a grosse powder. Put the same to the Rose leaves, then put all these together in a bag, and take that to bed with you, and the sweet smell will cause you to sleep, and it is good to smell unto at other times." (Ram's Little Dodoen, 1606)