Customer Reviews

Gardening with Roses: A Practical and Inspirational Guide

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This little book (paperbound and measuring only 8"x5") is a very good tool for selecting old roses for your garden. The author is from England so you might want to consult other books to see if a particular rose will grow well in your region. However, the advice this author gives is highly worthwhile. He covers over 200 roses (arranged as "Bush" roses and "Climbing" roses) and devotes 2 lengthy paragraphs to each one. The descriptions are poetic and the author also suggests ways of using the rose in the garden (color schemes, etc.) Lists are included at the back of the book which notes roses by categories (colors, good foliage, shade, small gardens, scent, informal gardens, structures). Hardiness zone maps cover both the U.S. and Europe. The photographs are excellent and are mainly close-ups (although there are outstanding full garden shot photos in the introductory chapters).

Mr. Taylor has written an unpretentious yet gorgeous book about roses. He writes eloquently about roses, from old garden to quite modern, with frankness and candor. This is not a man who is writing for a buck or a trend. The photographs are gorgeous, the suggestions for settings and companion plantings are wonderful, and he mentions flaws (awkward growth? disease? thorniness?) that other sources do not. I subsequently took a number of his suggestions and exercised them. It's particularly good for people who want or have spaces for a few roses, and would like to avoid mistakes, as opposed to the collector who has hundreds of roses and can afford errors. Very highly recommended.