Customer Reviews

The English Roses: Classic Favorites & New Selections

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As an avid collector of David Austin books and roses, I was very displeased with this over priced book. It's pretty much his older books just rehashed with a few more added roses. The quality of the photographs are not very impressive. The book just seems to photograph each rose by itself as opposed to a full bush. I was hoping for a lot better quality for the price I paid for this book.

I love growing David Austin roses, reading about them and deciding which ones to add to my garden. I was disappointed with the quality of the paper and the printing has declined since the previous edition. I found it difficult to really see what a rose would look like in the garden when the backgrounds of the photos are all stark white.
After having this book out on my coffee table for three months and making notes to decide which roses to buy I noticed that the binding is starting to tear. I feel that stardardizing this edition took away the charm and beauty of the previous edition. ams

I ordered this book to get an update on what is currently available on this subject in the garden market. This is a beautiful coffee table book. The full page color photos are well done. David Austin is The definitive expert in English Roses and their developement. This is a great reference book for folks who like this class of roses. Beside each photo is a detailed explanation of name selection, cultivation, and hybrid history information. Who doesn't like a rose which actually has real fragrance!!

With all this talk (by David Austin) of breeding a more attractive flower on a more attractive shrub, why didn't he include a picture of a mature shrub of each rose he was talking about?
The book does have beautiful closeups of many, many, (I think 71) of his roses. And... there are pictures in the other sections of some of the rose bushes... but it could have been much more helpful if there were also a picture of each shrub, not just the close-up of the flower.
But not to be forgotton, other than the beautiful flowers and the missing shrubs, David Austin's history of the English roses, etc, makes for interesting and educational reading.

David Austin has again shown the English Rose to best advantage in this second book on the subject. The photography is superb, showing each named rose to best advantage both as single blossom and in landscaping. Besides updating the cultivars, adding those developed since his first book, he has included extensive material on cultivation, pruuning, and placement into garden settings. This book is a must for those who love the English Rose.

My wife picked this book up when she got on a rose kick earlier this year. Although I'm more into jazz than flowers, I have to say this is a very impressive, beautiful book. For the most part, this book is pretty much a catalog of Mr. Austin's roses, but the layout of the book is especially user-friendly and approachable. Most of it has text on the left hand page and a full page picture on the right hand page accompanying the text. You always know what you're looking at and what the author is talking about. The nuggets about caring for roses and laying out a garden are embedded in the text; there's no comprehensive "how to" section for the beginner, which might be a negative point for some. And although the book is a little pricey, it really is pleasant to look at. This book will be revisited often not only throughout the rose growing season, but especially in anticipation of spring, when your eyes want to dwell on flowers and there's nothing but stems in the garden.

I'm a dedicated rosarian, and love pouring over catalogs and books about roses. This book allowed me to indulge my senses, but unfortunately, also empty my wallet. How can you not linger over these lucious David Austin roses, and not yearn to have more. Also, liked reading David Austin's overview of rose history and his attempts to develop a rose with all of the "charm" of the old fashioned roses, along with the better qualities in the newer roses.

I love this book! It is almost as if I can smell the roses. There are beautiful pictures and suggestions how to apply roses in your own garden.

I went on a holiday to the UK last year and visited the David Austin nursery. This book brings me back there. I love it!

a beautiful book with full explanatory notes on the roses. just a "gorgeous" book to hold and read. a real treasure by a master grower and developer of english roses.

Excellent compendium of classic roses and English roses. I enjoyed the history of roses and particularly the description of the English roses that David Austin bred. I hear his voice in the descriptions and the love he has for his work. What a treasure he is. I hope he writes more before he retires from the work.