In my Library - The English Roses

The English Roses
Classic Favorites & New Selections
By David Austin
Photography by Howard Rice, Andrew Lawson & Ron Daker

This is a beautiful hardcover book, perfect for the coffee table. Famous David Austin Roses, who does not know them?
The third edition I am holding in my hands features an updated catalog of English roses with more than 20 additional new rose varieties and is an essential reference for rose lovers.

Renaissance Garden at Albrighton

I enjoyed reading Part one, the origins and nature of an English rose. The book begins with a short introduction of the history of the rose, the Queen of Flowers over the centuries and explains in detail all about the English rose, the quality, color, growth, and differences in fragrance. English roses do not have to be planted by themselves but are perfectly happy when growing alongside other shrubs with shorter companion plants at their base as explained in the section on roses in the garden.

English roses in the House

The largest part of the book is Part two, a catalog of David Austin's English roses. Each featured rose has a double page, with a detailed description on one side and a close-up photography on the opposite. The photographs are with a white background which makes the details of the roses stand out very nicely.

Part three of the book, English roses in the future and rose cultivation, is closing the book with a glimpse into the rose breeding program and how to grow and cultivate a rose in your garden.

Lady of Shallott

Growing roses in Central Florida is not impossible, but we have to mindfully pick the right varieties. I suggest getting David Austin Roses grafted on fortuniana rootstock  (Cool Roses)

Strawberry Hill

The three varieties pictured in this post are from the book and are some of my favorites and suitable for growing the hot and humid Florida climate.

Darcey Brussell

I am happy to add this book to my collection and I want to thank Caroline of Firefly Books LTD., for providing this book The English Roses: Classic Favorites and New Selections for review.
(Photographs used with permission)