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.
Alice JoyceCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Review
Written for American gardeners this is nevertheless of much interest to rose lovers in the UK. A fresh viewpoint from an established US gardening writer and presenter, Jeff Cox, accompanied by the inspirational photographs of Jerry Pavia make this an informative, attractive work on one of Britain's favourite flowers. Gardeners are always interested in other people's gardens and this gives a glorious insight into how roses are grown abroad, in zones not always amenable to rose growing. Arbours, trellis, rose-beds, mixed borders - all are covered with clear instructions on how to make supports and general cultivation advice. Unusual planting combinations and growing methods make this a must for gardeners interested in using roses as part of their garden design and a fresh intelligent viewpoint on an age-old subject is always welcome. - Lucy Watson