Roses (Simple Pleasures) - Hardcover

Sala, Orietta

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0863503039 ISBN 13: 9780863503030

Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd, 1989

Roses are the unrivaled divas of any garden. In this book, Orietta Sala presents a complete guide to roses that starts by answering that most basic of questions: which rose to plant where? Gardeners who wish to buy, plant, and learn about roses also have unique challenges: "What's a good small rose for a small garden?" "Which roses grow best in balcony planters?" "I want a large hedge that is always in flower."

These questions and many others are answered with information organized according to the practical needs of cultivation. The roses are divided according to the uses for which they are best suited:

Each rose has its own identity card, a description of its unique characteristics and needs. One or more color photographs beautifully depict each flower. Since not all varieties are universally available, suitable alternative selections are given for each rose. This feature greatly widens the already vast selection presented in the book. Suggestions are made for roses or other flowers that make harmonizing garden companions.

Roses is a richly detailed handbook offering much-needed information to novice and seasoned gardeners alike.

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About the Author:

Orietta Sala is a globally recognized authority in the growing and breeding of roses. She is widely published in gardening journals.

Preface

Roses are the world's most talked about flowers. They are the unrivaled heroines and centers of attention in any garden. Stacks of books and magazines relate the stages of the rose's long history, provide rules and guidelines for keeping roses healthy and describe in abundant detail the thousands upon thousands of varieties that have been created. Without doubt, enormous pleasure can be derived from investigating the nooks and cranies of the personal life of this flower, getting to know it intimately.

But there is one point that should be cleared up before all others. Of all the many roses, which do we want to plant in our gardens? Answering that question is the primary aim of this book. Anyone who wants to buy, plant and learn about a rose or many roses, always has his or her special problem: "I need a small rose for a small garden," "I have three planters on my balcony; are there any roses I could put in them?" "I want a large hedge that is always in flower," "I want a big yellow rose."

This book has been organized according to the practical needs of cultivation, making it simple to locate the answers to all such questions. The roses are divided on the basis of the uses to which they are best put in a garden: roses that climb and ramble; roses for beds, borders and hedges; roses for espalier and groundcover; roses for patios and balconies.

Each rose described in the book has its own "identity card," a description of its characteristics and needs accompanied by one or more color photographs. Since not all cultivars are available everywhere, good alternative selections are given for each rose, thus greatly enlarging the already vast selection presented in the book. In some cases, suggestions are made for roses or other flowers that make good garden companions.

This detailed rose-by-rose treatment is preceded by an introduction that includes a brief history of the rose from antiquity to today -- certainly the most fascinating flower history there is -- and a guide to the techniques of rose cultivation, from buying plants to soil preparation, fertilizers, pruning, methods of propagation and measures for handling diseases and insect pests.

Those who wish to learn more can begin with the classification of roses at the back of the book, in which all the classes of roses are listed -- antique roses and many of the more recent creations. Also given are names and addresses of leading nurseries from which roses can be bought.

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