Sweltering summer days are upon us and although St Louis is humid and hot, the weather hasn't kept me indoors. While I lounge on the patio, watching the kids splash in the pool I love to have a crisp icy glass of lemonade by my side. Since my beautiful rose bush is in full bloom, I thought I'd make the most of the lovely pink blossoms with rose lemonade.

home made rose petal lemonade recipe

To Make Rose Water
You can purchase pre-made rose water in many health food stores but its so simple to make your own. I used 6 roses from my garden and pulled off all of the petals

home made rose petal lemonade recipe

home made rose petal lemonade recipe


Rinse the petals thoroughly and put them in a sauce pan with enough water to cover the petals



Bring to a boil until the roses lose their color. This only takes a few minutes

With a colander in a bowl, dump the petals and water in the colander, catching the rose water below


Pour your rose water into a glass or small bowl to chill while you make the lemonade. My rose water had some floaties in it from the petals so I ran it through a coffee filter into the glass to get any rose bits out

To Make Lemonade


combine 2 cups sugar and 1 1/2 cups water in a sauce pan and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. This makes a syrup.

While the syrup is cooling, juice 4-6 lemons



In a pitcher, combine your syrup, lemon juice and 5 cups of cold water.  Next comes the rose water. Start with a few tablespoons and see how you like it. You can always add more. I ended up with about 1/8 cup of rose water in my pitcher plus some extra lemon juice because I like mine pretty tart.

Serve over ice and garnish with a lemon slice and rose bud


for lemonade
2 cups sugar
6 1/2 cups water
4-6 lemons, juiced (save some slices for garnish)

for rose water
6 roses
water to cover the petals in a sauce pan