Books for Rose Lovers

Whether you are an experienced rose gardener or beginner, these books are great choices for your library.

By visiting and buying from our associates you help defray costs to keep Rainy Side Gardeners online. Thank you for your continued support of this web site.

American Rose Society Encyclopedia of Roses

Book Description Featuring a fascinating history of the rose, origins of individual names, and a showcase of the world's best-loved roses, the ARS Encyclopedia of Roses is a complete guide to the care and cultivation of more than 2,000 roses. Cataloged in an easy-to-follow A-Z format and lusciously illustrated, this indispensable reference is destined to become every gardener's rose bible.

Botanica's Roses

Book Description The rose is one of the most, if not the most, recognized and best loved flowers in the world. No other plant or flower brings such crowning glory to a garden as the rose. Now all the species and varieties of roses are carefully and lovingly categorized in this comprehensive guide. This inexhaustible reference is compiled by Botanica's expert editors and stands alongside the equally impressive Annuals & Perennials and Trees & Shrubs. Over 2,500 color photographs capture the beauty of the over 2,000 varieties listed. You are sure to find the perfect rose for any site, season, or soil condition. Complete with a reference table and glossary, this compendium is both easy to use and portable.

Classic Roses: An Illustrated Encyclopedia and Grower's Manual of Old Roses, Shrub Roses and Climbers

From Ingram A landmark work revised and updated with 600 new four-color photographs by the world's foremost authority on roses. England's rose expert Peter Beale identifies and describes species, cultivars, and varieties that have stood the test of time and offers tips for growing geared especially to American gardeners. Over 650 color photos.

Climbing Roses of the World

Book Description Climbing and rambling roses are sources of grace and dignity in the finest of gardens. This book is the first completely new volume in almost forty years to grapple with the histories, lineages, and special charms of these aristocrats of the garden. Charles Quest-Ritson documents virtually all climbing and rambling roses currently in cultivation, the fruit of his research in half a dozen languages and his travels to gardens from Australia to the United States and throughout Europe. Illustrated with 200 colour plates, Climbing Roses of the World presents climbers of every type, from the parent Rosa species to the Multifloras, Noisettes, and modern climbers, to name just a few. Quest-Ritson discusses the historical development of the various types of climbing roses as well as individual breeders and how fashion, political events, and even favourite holiday destinations influenced their work. He provides original horticultural names and synonyms for nearly 1600 climbing roses and describes their habit, flowers, foliage, hardiness, and vigour. Gardeners throughout the world will value the book's detailed information on blooming times, changes in flowers over the course of a season, and the adaptability of different roses to different climates.

The most comprehensive and thoroughly researched study of climbers and ramblers ever published, Climbing Roses of the World will stand as the definitive treatment for years to come. No gardener will want to be without this unique source of information.

David Austin's English Roses

From Booklist For decades, Austin has devoted his life to the development of exquisite new rose varieties he designates English roses. In a stunning presentation that includes a brief history of roses through the centuries, Austin reveals his process of hybridizing these exciting new plants. Now widely available in the U.S., these are the roses creating real excitement among gardeners looking for superior specimens possessing sublime scent, many-petaled form, and color tempered by subtlety. Austin's beautifully photographed, clearly written guide--offering cultivation requirements, pruning instructions, an extensive portfolio assessing the habit of each English rose type--provides information indispensable to gardeners in general and rose connoisseurs in particular.

Designing With Roses

Book Description Graceful in habit and lush in bloom, with a sumptuous variety of color and scent, roses are perhaps the most pleasing element in any garden. In Designing with Roses, the remarkable versatility of these plants is at last fully explored. Whether in a mixed border or a pot, a flower garden or kitchen plot, an urban terrace or a rural expanse, Tony Lord dramatically illustrates the rose's potential as an elegant climber, screen, enclosure, and container plant. Offering a careful explanation of the cultural requirements of roses in every situation, he provides expert advice on the optimum methods of planting, feeding, pruning, and spraying. Completing the book are a detailed directory of the best rose varieties for each purpose and site as well as a list of suitable companion plants. A welcome, long-overdue contribution to gardening literature. Tony Lord is an award-winning photographer and horticultural consultant; his previous books include Best Borders and Gardening at Sissinghurst.

The English Roses

Book Description: Beloved for their beautiful pastel colors and their appealing fragrance, often enhanced by the hotter and more reliable summers of the U.S., English roses have been garden favorites for years. When he originated English roses, David Austin sought to combine the desirable flower forms and fragrance of old roses with the wide color range and repeat flowering of modern hybrids. To the delight of gardeners across the world, he was successful. Now, in his first book in more than ten years, Austin introduces 40 recently developed varieties in addition to 40 of his best-loved and time-tested favorites. Beautiful photographic portraits of each are complimented by notes on attributes, history, and special requirements for growing in the garden. Ideal for rose enthusiasts and gardeners.

The Graham Stuart Thomas Rose Book

From Book News, Inc. Comprising three of Thomas' oft-reprinted classics, The Old Shrub Roses, Shrub Roses of Today, and Climbing Roses Old and New, this enlarged and revised version provides an excellent history of the rose world and is a truly useful reference, particularly concerning ancient species and obscure cultivars. Above all, this publication is a pleasure to read and look at, with exquisite reproductions of paintings by P.J. Redoute, Thomas himself, and other noteworthies; 23 pencil drawings by the author; and a fat section of fine color photographs. Includes practical information on planting, pruning, cultivation, and display. A real treasure at an eminently reasonable price.

Growing Roses Organically: Your Guide to Creating an Easy-Care Garden Full of Fragrance and Beauty (Rodale Organic Gardening Book)

In Growing Roses Organically, Barbara Wilde challenges the myth that growing roses has to be a time-consuming task that you can't do effectively without using chemical fertilizers and pesticides. In fact, she takes the intimidation out of growing roses by sharing her well-rounded, holistic approach for success. Wilde starts with tips for choosing healthy varieties, including hints for buying the best bareroot and container plants. She guides you through careful soil preparation and proper planting techniques and offers advice on how to gently intervene when it comes to pest and disease problems. Wilde also demystifies pruning--a task that perplexes many gardeners. Her step-by-step explanation of various techniques makes this task doable for every gardener, including beginners.

You'll also find invaluable information in A Gallery of Roses, an eye-catching identification guide that boasts more than 100 roses best suited for organic gardening techniques. Each entry in the gallery includes a detailed description of the rose and its best uses, as well as ratings for fragrance, disease susceptibility, and shade tolerance.

In Search of Lost Roses

From Library Journal This highly readable account is the story of one man's quest for the old-fashioned roses, fragrant and beautiful flowers largely forgotten following the introduction of tea roses in 1867. The author recounts his explorations through backyards, cemeteries, abandoned gold rush towns of America, and old gardens of Europe, describing the roses he found and the dedicated specialists he met along the way. By one estimate, only several hundred of the originally thousands of old rose cultivars still exist. These roses' wealth of form, color, fragrance, and habit made each unique; the same cannot be said of the new, uniform varieties. This is a welcome record of the efforts of the few who are preserving this agricultural legacy.

Landscaping With Roses: Gardens, Walkways, Arbors, Containers

From Booklist Low-maintenance roses? Yes, there is a new breed of shrub rose. These less-fussy plants inspired Cox to create a guide to designing garden plans where perennials contentedly consort with the queen of flowers. Although some rose lovers desire formal beds, others strive for an exuberant, free-form naturalistic style, so Cox shows ways to maximize the effects of repeat and once-blooming roses regardless of the garden layout. Pavia's photographs capture vignettes in private, primarily American, gardens where splendid varieties of old and modern roses reign. Cox looks for qualities like disease resistance, an attractive growth habit, and abundant flower production to base his recommendations for rose color and hardiness or to meet design requirements. Anyone new to rose gardening should appreciate the concluding chapters, with practical advice on how to select, grow, and prune roses.

Old-Fashioned and David Austin Roses

Book Description: A gardener-friendly guide to growing roses.

Old-fashioned roses are cherished by gardeners for their timeless beauty, strong fragrance and fascinating history. Growing these roses -- along with their hybrids -- offers gardeners an opportunity to bring history to life. It is enormously gratifying to know that the roses blooming in one's garden were first cultivated by the Empress Josephine or were originally used to cover Cleopatra's bed.

Old-fashioned and David Austin Roses communicates the pure romance of old fashioned roses while demystifying the process of growing them. Contents include: - History - Once-flowering old roses - Repeat-flowering old roses - David Austin roses - Cultivation - Landscaping with old roses - Diversions: making rose oil, syrup and more

Each section of the book is organized by species and near hybrids. A concise history introduces the cultivars along with a short description that includes date of origin, growing requirements and interesting historical facts. Straightforward advice for planning and growing includes practical tips for feeding, watering, mulching, deadheading, cutting, pruning and minimizing the effects of pests, diseases and cold weather.

There are landscaping instructions for borders and beds, containers, groundcover, rose shrubs, hedges, the woodland garden and climbers. Finally, a rose cookbook includes recipes for creating such ancient concoctions as rose oil/perfume, rose and rhubarb syrup and rose brandy.

Old-fashioned and David Austin Roses is an accessible and essential reference for novice and experienced gardeners.

The Organic Rose Garden

From Booklist Druitt, cohost of the PBS series The New Garden Journal, offers readers a comprehensive guide to growing roses organically. She discusses rose garden design, soil preparation, planting, propagating, weeding, watering, fertilizing, pruning, and disease and pest control. For 175 roses, Druitt provides information on name, class, color, fragrance (if any), size, blooming capability, shade tolerance, and the most appropriate growing zones. A final chapter contains recipes, such as candied rose petals, rose petal jam and pound cake, and rose hip tea, soup, sauce, and jelly.

Reliable Roses

Book Description A no-fuss guide to growing roses written by a rose expert.

Too often gardeners are intimidated by the many practical requirements of growing roses. This book shows how to grow a garden of roses successfully with surprisingly little effort.

Even the newest gardeners can enjoy the natural beauty, fragrance and exquisite colors of roses.

Here, the objective is enjoyment more than labor. This easy-care guide provides all the critical steps that ensure perfect roses every time: - Planning and designing a rose garden - Selecting the roses that are right for your garden - Planting, the growing cycle and pruning - Maintenance and how best to enjoy your roses

Helpful sections cover how to identify key rose-growing locations in a garden, deciding between old and modern bush or climber varieties and the best places to buy roses. Seventy-five varieties are identified from Alberic Barbier to Warm Wishes including shrub and climbing, long-flowering, versatile, fragrant and easy-to-grow roses.

Another useful section identifies the varieties of roses that give the best results with a minimum of fuss. Quick reference pictograms indicate a rose's growing zone, ease to succeed and relative performance for the space the plant will take.

Reliable Roses is the perfect handbook for gardeners of all levels who want to add the beauty of roses to their gardens.

Rose Bible

Book Description In one engagingly written, frankly opinionated, lavishly illustrated volume, America's leading authority on roses reveals everything the gardener needs to know about the most popular of all garden plants: from how to grow and maintain them to critical information for the most experienced gardener on such essentials as harvesting, propagating, grafting, and breeding new varieties.

Roses

Book Description: Roses are the unrivaled divas of any garden. In this book, Orietta Sala presents a complete guide to roses that starts by answering that most basic of questions: which rose to plant where? Gardeners who wish to buy, plant, and learn about roses also have unique challenges: "What's a good small rose for a small garden?" "Which roses grow best in balcony planters?" "I want a large hedge that is always in flower."

These questions and many others are answered with information organized according to the practical needs of cultivation. The roses are divided according to the uses for which they are best suited:

Each rose has its own identity card, a description of its unique characteristics and needs. One or more color photographs beautifully depict each flower. Since not all varieties are universally available, suitable alternative selections are given for each rose. This feature greatly widens the already vast selection presented in the book. Suggestions are made for roses or other flowers that make harmonizing garden companions.

Roses is a richly detailed handbook offering much-needed information to novice and seasoned gardeners alike.

Roses for the Pacific Northwest

After reading the review I believe this a must for the beginning rose gardener and perhaps a good reference for those who know roses. Either way it is on my list for my own book shelf....She teaches courses on rose care and cultivation at Van Dusen Garden in Vancouver, where she also works as a volunteer. Christine lives on a farm in Langley, British Columbia, and grows over 200 roses, among herbs and perennials in her large country garden. Chapters include: Choosing a Rose; Suitable Roses for our climate; Preparing and designing the site; Amending your soil; Care and cultivation; Year round maintenance; Pruning; All-important pest control."

Shrub Roses & Climbing Roses: With Hybrid Tea and Floribunda Roses

This page was last modified:

Not finding the book you are looking for? Try the search box below.

Top

Questions, comments or suggestions? Would you like to communicate with other Pacific Northwest gardeners? Please join us on our forum.

Book Shelf Index