Author(s): Graham Stuart Thomas

Gardening

Roses are treasured for many reasons, as flowers of captivating beauty, for their sweet fragrance, their fascinating history, their value as a versatile garden plant and as symbols of trust, nationhood, and love. The quest to create roses, and the flowers that have resulted, are the subjects of this splendid book. It charts rose culture from its ancient origins through the horticulture of the nineteenth - century to hybrid breeding in modern times. THE ROSE explores the links that tie the simple wild roses of nature to the earliest roses of civilization, exploding a few myths along the way, and tells how the dedication of skilled horticulturalists from many nations have brought into being the full petalled beauties of today. In addition, this beautiful volume presents some of the most sublime rose specimens ever created, drawn and painted by renowned botanical artists such as Pierre Joseph Redoute, Henry Andrews and John Lindley.