David Austin's English Roses: Glorious New Roses for American Gardens

David Austin has a bewitching story to tell, and he is uniquely placed to describe each rose's individual charms. He analyses the English Roses in great depth, setting them in their place in history, and describing the early hybridizing work that led to the first varieties. With a broader perspective, he considers how to choose partners for roses in the garden; and a unique, illustrated catalog of more than sixty of the best varieties of English Rose provides a rich reference source. Finally, rose growers will find David Austin's advice on how to grow, prune, and care for their own roses truly invaluable.
Throughout the book, Clay Perry's ravishing photographs bring the roses to life, both in colorful close-up and in picturesque garden settings.

For decades, Austin has devoted his life to the development of exquisite new rose varieties he designates English roses. In a stunning presentation that includes a brief history of roses through the centuries, Austin reveals his process of hybridizing these exciting new plants. Now widely available in the U.S., these are the roses creating real excitement among gardeners looking for superior specimens possessing sublime scent, many-petaled form, and color tempered by subtlety. Austin's beautifully photographed, clearly written guide--offering cultivation requirements, pruning instructions, an extensive portfolio assessing the habit of each English rose type--provides information indispensable to gardeners in general and rose connoisseurs in particular. Alice Joyce

Developed since 1969 by the author, English Roses are hybrids of Old Roses with present-day Hybrid Teas and Floribundas. They generally retain the shape and fragrance of the Old Roses, while keeping the disease resistance and perpetual bloom of the Moderns, although as the illustrations show, there is considerable divergence among individual varieties. Austin tells how he began creating English Roses, describes their characteristics, and suggests how best to use and care for them. The book is rounded off by individual portraits of each variety with specifics of size, fragrance, hardiness, and parentage. A list of suppliers follows. This will probably not be the last word on English Roses, especially on their care, but it is an excellent introduction to this new group of roses, beautifully presented in Perry's photographs. Recommended for larger public libraries and academic collections serving agriculture departments.
- Molly Newling, Piscataway P.L., N.J.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.