The Organic Rose Garden

Rating:
Summary: Best for a limited audience
Review: The paperback edition of this book may differ in format from the hardback edition. In the paperback edition, the color pictures are small and of poor quality. Photos intended to illustrate particular techniques (weaving a climbing rose on a pillar, for instance) are simply too small to provide any visual information at all. Not all roses are pictured, which is a drawback in a book that leans heavily on older roses.

There's a good index, which is helpful, because one ends up having to consult it often to pull together information about specific roses. Rather than include all data about zones, shade tolerance, size and more in each alphabetized annotation, there is a cumbersome table cross-referenced by class. Within the annotations, the author includes such observations as "more than worth the wait" and "I think this rose is really cute". Not everyone will find such informality off-putting, of course.

The book is not a useful survey for gardeners in places cooler than Zone 6. Given the constraints of the author's experiences and apparent research, perhaps the book would be of greatest interest and use to those in the author's home state of Texas.

A charming chapter on rose recipes, which really should be contemplated only by organic rose gardeners, concludes the book.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Rose Guide for the South
Review: This book is truly excellent if you live below the Mason-Dixon line and are just starting out with roses. She gives detailed coverage of a great many roses well adapted to the South, as well as growing roses without a lot of chemicals. I like this book so much, I carry it with me when I travel (which I do 3 wks/month), which tells you something. Beautiful pictures, good details on roses and great advice. I highly recommend this esp. if you are new to roses.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Rose Guide for the South
Review: This book is truly excellent if you live below the Mason-Dixon line and are just starting out with roses. She gives detailed coverage of a great many roses well adapted to the South, as well as growing roses without a lot of chemicals. I like this book so much, I carry it with me when I travel (which I do 3 wks/month), which tells you something. Beautiful pictures, good details on roses and great advice. I highly recommend this esp. if you are new to roses.

Rating:
Summary: Pragmatic with a dash of humor....
Review: You might want to read THE ORGANIC ROSE GARDEN by Liz Druitt even if you aren't planning on growing roses. Druitt has a wonderful sense of humor. For example, she says the rugosa rose must require a great deal of nitrogen since it has thorns designed to extract human blood. Each of the entries for her list of 100 is written in a friendly, helpful, and folksy way, helpful and not hokey.

Druitt's book contains a handy "Quick Reference Chart for Garden Form" with information organized by height: name; color; fragrance (***); size; repeat bloom; hips; shade tolerance; and Best in zones (4-9). The entries for roses in alpha order follow this chart.

Since ROSES was written for organic gardening, the reader is advised on organic methods. In a section entitled "Getting and Planting Roses" she describes the preliminary tasks the gardener must undertake to ensure she starts with good stock. She covers purchasing, layering, planting in containers and climbing roses. In "Maintaining the Roses" the reader learns about weeding, watering, fertilizing, pruning and seasonal care. In "Trouble Shooting" the author deals with pests. Because this is an organic book we learn about beneficial insects, nectary and shelter plants, and hedgerow barriers (to keep out the deer). Pests include the neighbor's dog (get a fence), fire ants (get the hormone 'Logic'); and other bugs--plant dill, garlic, or get out the hose.

All in all, this book is solid gold for the new or the old rose gardener and I recommend it.