Customer Reviews

Otherwise Normal People: Inside the Thorny World of Competitive Rose Gardening

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I don't know much about flowers, but my interest in obsession and collecting is pretty wide, and I leaped on this book in the same way as I read recent books about crossword puzzles and beauty pageants. When I was in Portland last month several friends were already reading advance copies, claiming this Aurelia Scott had written a book which named names and takes no prisoners, and that in rosarian circles, her book would raise eyebrows and snap certain reputations.

I have found on the contrary that she has written a gentle, merry book celebrating rose shows and the world of exhibition roses, it is not at all an expose of any kind. She is remarkably kind about her subjects, and to tell you the truth, her writing is possibly too charitable, could have used a bit more spice. She seems overly impressed by the work these gardeners spend on their gardens, and the number of roses they keep at home. OK, she takes a few snipes at Tommy Cairns and Luis Desamero, apparently the only gay men involved in the rose world. Luis especially comes across as a true eccentric, in his powder blue shorts, sort of a Lt. Dangle of the competitive rose world. It's great when he enters one contest that's actually been named after him, with a rose that carries his own name; it's either queen-size vanity or true ego fulfillment. Luis winds up winning the "Climber" award--touche!

Scott doesn't dwell overmuch on how these people finance this hobby, but it doesn't seem cheap. They must all be extremely well to do, to run around the country entering their wares, much less devote acres of private garden to their floribunda and Lynn Andersons. I was sort of curious about the economy of these shows. Are they just for rich people? Or do regular Joe Schmoes enter too? At any rate, rosegrowing seems to call for masses of time, a true luxury. "The only thing more frustrating than making an orange rose fit," moans Satish Prabhu, "is playing golf." Where Scott excels is showing how what seems like a harmless habit can take over your whole life, break up your marriage, turn you into a competitive rose-growing machine. But on the upside, you are surrounded at every turn by beauty. She counterposes the cut throat exhibition crowd to the so called "old garden rose" people, who seem much more genteel and into their history. Naturally the blowsy, smelly old roses don't win Queen of Show in competitions, the scent hasn't been bred out of them, and they're often crooked and misshapen by modern standards, and yet they have that "heirloom" thing going on, a touch of class in a strange new century.

If you're into roses, you'll read this book with a smile and also with a notepad to record new tricks of the trade.
The personalities of the featured rosarians definitely "come through."
The style, subject matter, and the rosarians are a delight.
This is a must read for any serious rosarian.

I truly enjoyed this book! Regardless if you show roses or not, this is a very informative book. I don't show my roses but as rose lover I really enjoy looking at "healthy looking roses" and learning so I really had a good time reading this book. Too bad it doesn't have pictures!!!!
It's a very easy and pleasurable reading! It makes me want to see the rose gardens she mention!

I had read a boat load of advertising about this book before it came out. So naturally "Had to Have It". Now I would gladly give it away so no one else spends the money on it. There are some just plain terrible tales in it and perhaps they needed to be told to show how really crazy some folks get about showing roses. Some of the stories of what people do, how they act, give the beautiful rose a black eye. Sorry to say but this book was a huge let down for me. I cannot recommend it to anyone. There are other books, such as A Rose By Any Name out that are so far above this book that it might as well not exist.

It was fun reading about people that I have actually met at some of the conventions.

A wonderfully written book about a very special group of folks. Reading the book could make a rose lover out of anyone.

The innocent reader who knows nothing of roses will believe that extraordinary measures are necessary to grow them properly. Fortunately, that's completely untrue *unless* one plans to exhibit. The majority of people who love and grow roses have no interest in exhibition--but rather in the beauty of these plants.

The book is entertaining, certainly, but modern hybrid teas interest me not at all, so I was disappointed by Scott's lack of attention to old-garden roses.

A technical reader familiar with roses should have assisted in the production of this book. It is, unfortunately, rife with factual errors. Just an example from memory: Scott discusses 'New Dawn' and claims it was "bred" by a particular nursery. No, it wasn't. The most cursory research would have revealed that 'New Dawn' is a repeat-blooming sport of 'Dr. W. Van Fleet'. A sport is a spontaneous genetic mutation, thus 'New Dawn' arose from 'Dr. W. Van Fleet' and was not itself "bred" (hybridized).

A copy editor would have been useful as well. Somewhere near the beginning of the book Scott refers to someone "pouring over" reading material. Please.