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Gardening with Roses
A Practical and Inspirational Guide.

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by Bobby J. Ward
Forward by Ann Lovejoy

0-88192-286-2
256 pp, 204 color photos, 5 x 7 1/2", paperback.

Excerpt

Climbing roses do not need to be properly supported. On a wall, heavy-gauge wires fixed horizontally 12 in apart with regular supporters in the form of vine-eyes along its length, every 10 ft or so, is immense convenience. When tying in roses to the wires use soft gardening string, never nylon, or worst of all, plastic-covered wire ties which look horrible and can constrict new growth. In old-fashioned French gardens such as La Rosseraie de l'Hay, the very skilled gardeners still use traditional slips of osier deftly twisted over to secure the rose shoots.

A wall or sturdy fence will provide a protected environment for more tender roses - sheltering them from the wind and trapping the sun. A pergola or arbour does not afford this protection - so if your garden is cold and suffers from winds, plant only the hardier roses in such exposed positions. The colour of a wall or fence will have much influence on the appearance of a rose planted against it. Limestone walls, with yellow or tawny brown in their colouring, make a beautiful background for cream, apricot, or yellow roses. Whereas some red brick makes a very ugly background for certain red roses. In Dutch and French formal gardens woodwork is often painted a very dark green, almost black, which provides a sympathetic background to many colours.