The English Roses: Classic Favorites & New Selections

by David Austin

Beloved for their beautiful pastel colors and their appealing fragrance, often enhanced by the hotter and more reliable summers of the U.S., English roses have been garden favorites for years. When he originated English roses, David Austin sought to combine the desirable flower forms and fragrance of old roses with the wide color range and repeat flowering of modern hybrids. To the delight of gardeners across the world, he was successful. Now, in his first book in more than ten years, Austin introduces 40 recently developed varieties in addition to 40 of his best-loved and time-tested favorites. Beautiful photographic portraits of each are complimented by notes on attributes, history, and special requirements for growing in the garden. Ideal for rose enthusiasts and gardeners.

Genres: Gardening, Nonfiction, Reference

304 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

David Charles Henshaw Austin was a British rose breeder and author. His emphasis was on breeding roses with the character and fragrance of old garden roses (such as gallicas, damasks and alba roses) but with the repeat-flowering ability and wide colour range of modern roses such as hybrid teas and floribundas. (Source:Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Whitney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Uh-oh, I'm in trouble. When I first started working at my garden center I told myself I wouldn't bother with English Roses, they simply didn't appeal to me the way Hybrid Teas, Floribundas, or Grandifloras, did. Now after reading this book, I have no less than twenty(!) varieties of David Austin English Roses marked that I want.

This book gives a good introductory history to rose breeding, specifically for the English Roses, and talks about the groupings therein. Each rose has it's own picture and blurb that tells about it's parentage, growth habit, scent, and namesake, which I found very helpful and interesting. David Austin, bless his heart, tries so hard not to sound snooty when talking about his roses (especially in comparison with other varieties), but he just can't help himself. I think it's because he's British.

The only reason I'm not giving this book 5 stars is the lack of pictures for some important varieties such as Abraham Darby. But I really loved it! 4.5 Stars.

[Terri · Rating 5 out of 5]

A truly beautiful book. The latest edition of this 'bible for David Austin rose lovers'. A large portion of the book is dedicated to the stars of the show, the roses; with each rose getting a colour photo on one page and a full description on the other.
I actually bought it for my Mum for Christmas but have decided to keep it and buy another one for her as it makes a great gift for the rose loving family member or friend.

[Onceinabluemoon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tis the season to dream of spring roses!

[Allison · Rating 5 out of 5]

The newest book on the English Roses, as always, superior photography, printing, and information, on everything from the breeding of the English Roses to care, cultivation and use in the landscape. Each rose entry is also packed with essential information on size, growth habits, disease resistance, and use in the garden. All of David Austin's books are highly recommended for their beauty, quality and informative value. One note of caution--try to get the original hardcover edition, a cheaper and inferior soft cover form has been released for mass-market American bookstores.

[SmarterLilac · Rating 4 out of 5]

Started out as just the hardback I was using to write my rough drafts of short stories on. Then it became an interesting list of all the English roses I love, which, shockingly, contain a few varieties I've seen in the gardens of friends and family.

Also made me want to learn more about the rose, one of my favorite flowers. (I keep thinking I should try to learn more about gardening generally, actually, family tradition and all.)

[AD · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was lucky to win this book in a GoodReads giveaway. This is a gorgeous coffee table-style book with lovely photos of different varieties accompanied by descriptions of their growth and scent descriptions as well as a brief overview of their origins. Also included are sections on the history of roses, and the different varieties of scents, as well as instructions on arranging them. This book would be a great gift for anyone who enjoys roses.

[reading is my hustle · Rating 5 out of 5]

David Austin is a rock star in the world of roses. I heart him.

And I heart the names of his English roses:
Buttercup, Sweet Juliet, Cordelia, A Shropshire Lad, Othello, Perdita, Wise Portia, Wife of Bath, Evelyn. Sigh.

[Rose Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Updated edition of Austin's book about his gorgeous roses. These roses make me want to plow up my whole yard and plant nothing but Graham Thomases, Eglantynes and Gertrude Jekylls!

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely. I should probably buy this, considering my obsession.

[Blackbook · Rating 3 out of 5]

That damn library sale. Again. How many David Austin rose books do I already own? Did I need this one? No. So. Beautiful pictures. Flower forms. Color and texture. Fragrance.

[Jane Dugger · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was fantastic. I poured over the photos & text. I have recently arrived to the world of English Roses but am a full fledged card carrying member now.

[Novella Semplici · Rating 5 out of 5]

Recensione falsata dalla mia enorme passione per le rose inglesi. Foto meravigliose.

[FiktiveWelten · Rating 5 out of 5]

„Eine Rose ist eine Rose ist eine Rose ist eine Rose.“ (Sacred Emily – Getrude Stein, 1922)

Die Rose ist die Königin der Blumen, so sagt man. Sie ist ein Zeichen der Liebe und stets von edlem Charme. Allen voran die Englische Rose! Wer sich mit Rosen beschäftigt, kommt an DAVID AUSTIN nicht vorbei. Er ist Träger der Victoria Medal of Honour, der Dean Hole Medal und erhielt die Ehrendoktorwürde – allesamt für seine hervorragende Leistung im Bereich der Rosenzucht. FASZINATION ENGLISCHE ROSEN ist ein umfassendes Werk über DAVID AUSTIN UND SEINE LIEBLINGSSORTEN. Das Buch befasst sich mit seiner Vision, eine Rose zu erschaffen, die einen unübertroffenen Blütenflor, betörenden Duft, gesunden Wuchs und Krankheitsresistenz vereint.

Die nunmehr dritte, aktualisierte Ausgabe ist nach einem übersichtlichen Inhaltsverzeichnis und einem einnehmenden Vorwort in drei Teile gegliedert. Zunächst erfahren wir Grundlegendes über die Herkunft und Eigenschaften der Englischen Rose. Die Bedeutung der Rose als Gartenpflanze reicht mindestens ins dritte Jahrhundert vor unserer Zeitrechnung zurück. Die Englische Rose umfasst positive Eigenschaften von Alten und Modernen Rosen in einer neuen Gruppe. Die Idee dieser Züchtung, Errungenschaften und Ausprägungen werden ausführlich in Wort und Bild erklärt.

Eine Galerie Englischer Rosen bildet im zweiten Teil das Herzstück des Buches: Alte-Rose-Hybriden, Englische Moschus-Rosen, Englische Alba-Hybriden, Englische Kletter- und Englische Schnittrosen, um nur einige zu nennen. Die doppelseitigen Porträts bestehen aus einer seitenfüllenden Abbildung und einer Beschreibung der Pflanze. Hier finden sich beispielsweise Charaktereigenschaften, Eignungsempfehlungen oder ein kurzer Bezug zur Namensgebung wieder. Sortenname, Codename, ggf. Patent-Nummer sowie das Jahr der Einführung dürfen natürlich nicht fehlen. Eine Auswahl älterer Englischer Rosen werden am Ende des Abschnitts ohne Bild aufgelistet. Bei all den vielen Möglichkeiten und Anregungen, Tipps und Tricks, zuckt der grüne Daumen, das Gelesene gleich im eigenen Garten umzusetzen. Man kann sich kaum sattsehen, an dieser Pracht!

Die Zukunft der Englischen Rosen und ihre Kultivierung werden im dritten und letzten Teil des Titels angerissen. Was der Rosenzüchter einst als Hobby begann, genießt zwischenzeitlich weltweite Anerkennung und Respekt. Das Familienunternehmen von DAVID AUSTIN steht dank Sohn und Enkel mit gleicher Passion auf sicherem Fundament. Jedes Jahr werden sage und schreibe 150000 Pflanzen gekreuzt. Eines ist gewiss: Es wird niemals die perfekte Rose geben. Für unerfahrene Hobbygärtner gibt es dennoch einige gutgemeinte Ratschläge für ihr eigenes Rosenprojekt mit auf den Weg. Ein alphabetisch sortiertes Register zur gezielten Stichwortsuche, Warenzeichen und Bildnachweise runden den Bildband schlussendlich ab.

FASZINATION ENGLISCHE ROSEN erscheint als großformatiges Hardcover mit Schutzumschlag bei DVA. Das schwere Papier, der hochwertige Druck und die astreine Farbtreue sind von ausgezeichneter Qualität. In den zahlreichen Fotos von HOWARD RICE, ANDREW LAWSON und RON DAKER kann man sich regelrecht verlieren und fast schon den Rosenduft wahrnehmen.

Fazit:

FASZINATION ENGLISCHE ROSEN ist ein fantastisches Buch, das nicht nur besonders edle Pflanzen zeigt und erklärt, sondern auch die Leidenschaft und Freude der Rosenzüchter vermittelt. DAVID AUSTIN UND SEINE LIEBLINGSSORTEN sind pure Augenweide und Inspiration. Ein wunderschöner Bildband, der mich schier begeistert!

[Costanza Riello · Rating 5 out of 5]

libro fotografico, adatto agli amanti dei giardini ma soprattutto delle rose garden. ci sono le varietà più belle divise per colore, ci sono poi indicazioni pratiche come altezza ed espansione, profumo, tipo di coltivazione se in vaso o se adatta da reciso.
le foto sono scattate dalla coltivazione di David Austin, con scenari e colori davvero notevoli.

[Micebyliz]

it's dreamy. how i wish i had the space and the energy for a huge rose garden. you can almost get a whiff of heavenly scent :) from the pages of beautiful photos. I particularly liked the explanations of the origins of the names. that's exactly the kind of information i want from plant books.

[Valeria Isabel · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s a beautiful and perfect book for brief history of Old Roses and how English Roses came to be. It gives information on English rose categories, characteristics, fragrances, names and with plentiful pictures!!! I loved love it!!!

[Louie Jordan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Purchased on WOB as i was curious after reading the newer edition of this book and this one is far more informative. Although the varieties are mostly no longer available, the introductory sections are extremely helpful and give a great insight into some rose breeding history!

[Sahil · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like it

[Juli Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

A valuable resource for anyone with an interest in English roses.

[Carolyn Page · Rating 5 out of 5]

Garden roses, English roses, old fashioned roses... this book focused on roses bred by legend David Austin, in an attempt to get the form and beauty of the old fashioned roses together with the disease resistance and multiple bloomings of the newer hybrids. After reading this book, I believe he achieved.

Unlike some books on roses that merely catalogue different varieties and provide dry, cursory descriptions (looking at you Peter Beales), this book is lush. The first section provides a history of roses, the different types, what makes the types different, the shape, the form, the scent and colors of roses.

The second section is color photographs of roses in high contrast so that every detail shows clearly -- opposite are beautiful descriptions of the variety and how they were named. This section is divided into different families of English roses as bred by Austin.

The rest of the book is devoted to landscaping with different varieties of roses and practical advice for horticultural pursuits. As always, with the rest of this book beautiful color photographs are liberally interspersed with the text.

My favorite book on roses.

[Pamela Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Rose Bible. Love this book!!

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a stunningly beautiful book. The photography is wonderful. As a rose lover, this provides a lot of information and ideas of what kind of roses to add to my garden.