Rose to the Occasion

Roses are the Queen of Flowers.

They're beautiful, fragrant, and elegant - and roses require all the pampering of a real Queen, don't they?

Actually, they don't!

Rose gardening can be easy and pleasant. I've worked 25 years in horticulture and cared for over 300 roses in a public rose garden when I was municipal horticulturist. I found ways to keep rose gardening fussbudgetry to a minimum while growing vigorous roses that bloomed their heads off. Rose to the Occasion: An Easy-Growing Guide to Rose Gardening shares tricks and shortcuts that rosarians use, plus simple ways you can keep up with your to-do list in the rose garden.

Gardeners of all skill levels will find this book helpful, whether they be beginning gardeners or old rosarians, whether they have a green thumb or a brown thumb. Rose to the Occasion includes old illustrations of roses in bloom, plus historical background on each flower, down-to-earth wisdom on how to plant, grow, and prune roses; the in and out of fertilizing roses to get the lushest foliage and best blooms; advice on choosing the right rose for your garden, as well as many easy-growing varieties -- the latest on organic pest control and fungicide use in the rose garden -- hardy, tough old roses that can take whatever Mother Nature throws at them -- and general garden maintenance help that you can use anywhere in the garden.

If you love The Rose Bible by Rayford Clayton Reddell, or books by David Austin, or books like Right Rose, Right Place; or Everyday Roses: How to Grow Knock Out and Other Easy-Care Garden Roses; or The Organic Rose Garden, and if you like garden books leavened with humor -- then this book is for you.

As city horticulturist with no staff taking care of about 20 gardens, plus a 300+ public rose garden, I was already running like crazy everywhere I went. I wanted roses that wouldn't wilt or croak or wrap themselves in blackspot every time I looked at them cross-eyed. I wanted tough roses, roses that took heat and drought and bug attacks and zombie apocalypses with aplomb and would still come out looking great and covered with scented blossoms. (And the blossoms HAD to be scented -there was no two ways about that.)

I started reading rose books. I talked to Charles some more, which is always fun. Somewhere along the way, I got obsessed. I immersed myself in roses. I read about antique roses, which were making a comeback. Rose breeders, most notably David Austin, were crossing modern varieties with old varieties and to get roses that combined the best of the new and the old. Other breeders were creating roses that were tough and disease-resistant, such as the 'Knock-Out' landscape rose, which now you see everywhere.

I planted some antique roses, and they looked great. I planted more. The rose garden was starting to look spiffy, even though I still had to take roses out every year due to the rose rosette virus. I even tucked in some annuals and perennials around the garden to doll up the place when the roses conked out in July and August.

And so my obsession began.

Roses are amazing plants. Many old roses have a long and storied history. Some species that were growing during the time of the Pyramids are still blooming today. And these roses are attractive and fragrant. History, fragrance, and beauty in one flower. What could be better?