The Rose

Description

David Austin has an international following as a rose grower with an intimate knowledge of his chosen flower. In this wide-ranging book, he examines the historical development of the rose and discusses its place in the garden scene. He then selects and describes the best and most beautiful roses for today's gardens in chapters on Old Roses, Hybrid Teas and Floribundas, Small Roses, Species Roses, Shrub Roses, Climbing Roses and Rambling Roses.The English Roses that he has developed over fifty years of painstaking hybridisation are discussed in an especially highly illustrated and updated chapter that includes the best roses bred by David Austin up to the present day. The English Roses, which combine the charm, form of flower and gorgeous fragrance of the Old Roses with the disease resistance and the free and continuous flowering of Modern Roses, have influenced the way roses are used in gardens worldwide. Chapters on roses in the garden scene and on cultivation complete the book's comprehensive coverage. The opinions and recommendations of a leading rose grower, plantsman and gardener are combined with sumptuous photographs of roses in gardens and close up to make Roses irresistible for rose lovers and a must-have book for every rosarian.

David Austin is uniquely equipped to write a book on the rose. As a commercial rose grower, he is in continual contact with gardeners and as a hybridiser he is in touch with agents who sell and propagate his English Roses worldwide - from Japan, Australia and New Zealand to the USA and Canada. His garden at Albrighton, near Wolverhampton, contains one of the finest collections of roses in the world, containing more than 800 varieties. He is the author of The English Roses. He was awarded the Victoria Medal of Honour by the Royal Horticultural Society in 2003 and the Dean Hole Medal by the Royal National Rose Society.

It would make a great last-minute Christmas present for enthusiasts and beginners.A" Sunday Telegraph 'Life' section, December 20th 2009