Over the years I have built up a library of rose books to the point of starting to give away some of the more basic ones I started with in the early days. That is pretty much how I react to any new interest, build a reference library. Learn to knit: knitting books and books on sheep breeds and wools. Learn to sew: books on sewing technique and history of fashion and fabrics. Remodel the house: books on architectural styles and historic tiles and interior design. Probably none of you could guess what I trained for as a profession. Anyway, I have too many favorite rose books to make a manageable list but I'm not going to let that stop me. For starters, I would like to second Liz Druitt's book. It is exceptional. She's a nice person, too. I've never met her but when my dog died she sent me the most moving note on FB. I still tear up when I remember it. For pure eye candy I recommend Visions of Roses by Peter Beales as being very inspirational. Beautiful American Rose Gardens by Mary Tonetti Dorra is a similar book with the added bonus for Americans that it showcases gardens grown in climates familiar to us. You will get great ideas from both of these. Damask55Linen, you mentioned enjoying a book on the origin of rose names. Several came out all at the same period. If you'd like to read more you could try Naming the Rose by Roger Mann and A Rose By Any Name by Stephen Scanniello. Roger Mann was a regular poster the Antique Roses Forum back in the early days until Spike threw him off in a fit of pique. Stephen still posts from time to time, so these books are in a sense visits with old friends. It is at least like reading a book written by someone from your old hometown; they know the same "streets" you know. Stephen Scanniello also wrote Climbing Roses which fed my love of climbers. Today climbers are among my favorites. If a gardener grows roses in a warm climate with mild winters, he owes himself a copy of Tea Roses: Old Roses for Warm Climates written by six Australian rose historians and gardeners who visited the US while doing their research. However if you garden in a climate with a severe winter, you might try Hardy Roses by Robert Osborne (lots more roses in the revised edition) or even Growing Roses Organically by Barbara Wilde. That last book covers similar concerns as Liz Druitt's book does, only for areas that get much colder so the selection of roses is different. And while I cannot help but think of this one and that one I really should mention, I'll end with In Search of Lost Roses by Thomas Christopher. This wonderfully readable book describes the adventure of rediscovering lost roses better than any other I have read. Have at it! Rosefolly

Wow! You've got quite a list there! It shows that roses grow different for folks in different areas. I'm not sure how well I can respond to this question. My favorite rose is Gruss an Aachen. Has been, always will be. As for the second favorite? I have about 65 roses that are pushing for second place. If I go by the ones I cut the most often, in this order: Artistry Double Delight Patio Pearl Hot Cocoa Liberty Bell Sassy Cindy Chicago Peace Touch of Class

Constance Spry's Garden Journal, written in the '30's. She was sort of the Martha Stewart of her day: She was a floral arranger who was considered radical because she used vegetables, fruits, & branches in her arrangements! She wrote this book upon the encouragement of her friends in a garden club in New York. She was instrumental in preserving old rose varieties during the Battle of Britain & David Austin later named his very first English Rose after her. Don't have the book handy, but one of the things she says is that, after a disaster with some of the "new" fertilizers, she will never ever under any circumstances allow chemicals in her gardens again! The Victory Garden. don't know the author. found the book at an antique store. It's full of good everyday information, such as: planting flowers in the vegetable garden to feed our hearts & souls tending a small space well rather than over-extending, thus wasting seed & garden space as well as time & energy, using proven varieties to assure production & quality. Cultivating Delight, by Diane Ackerman. Not an old book, but I do love it. It's the story of a year in her garden, reflective & contemplative rather than nuts & bolts. It's a delightful book; I'm on my 2nd trip through it.

Yes, your location makes a huge difference when considering advice from an author. Quite the opposite of those in zone 9, I first started growing roses while living in zone 4; so I started growing OGRs because they are mostly hardy and robust. I devoured the three Graham Stuart Thomas books, but I didn't take into account that the climate in England is very different from upstate NY. It is not only warmer, but wetter. Moving to the Eastern US coastline in zone 6 was a very different matter. I no longer needed the extremely cold hardy roses, but the amount of rain was now diminished compared to PA, NY, Western MA and the Boston area. All that said, I now understand my climactic conditions and will happily read any rose book for the pleasure of learning about different roses while being aware of my own climatic requirements. If I were to start with those most close to hand, I would recommend the two astonishingly complete masterpieces by Brent Dickerson: 'The Old Rose Adventurer' and 'The Old Rose Advisor.' 'The Old Rose Adventurer' is a 600 page compendium of every once blooming OGR that was every mentioned in any print publication along with that description and image if there was one. The 'Old Rose Advisor' covers all the re-blooming, mostly European, OGRs with 274 images included with the contemporary description. I see that he now has several other books published about roses, but I haven't seen them. These are true reference quality books for the serious rose enthusiast. OK, I can't press "submit" without mentioning GST again and his three books, 'The Old Shrub Roses', ' Shrub Roses of Today ' and 'Climbing Roses Old and New.' All three books were combined into 'The Graham Stuart Thomas Rose Book' that includes a little new information. No other author has so profoundly affected my enthusiasm for OGRs and modern shrub roses. I have read his books over and over and even though I know most of them by heart, I still enjoy reading them. I suppose there is something appealing about his enthusiasm and knowledge. Again, I can't take all his recommendations literally as my climatic conditions are different, but for the most part his observations have been trenchant and his recommendations accurate.