500 Popular Roses for American Gardeners

I bought this book for myself several years ago. It was so good, I have bought one for every gardener friend I know! It is divided into types of roses, with descriptions and color photos, and has a "quick reference" section at the end which lets you choose roses by type, color, fragrance, size, etc. (VERY convenient!) I always use it as a reference if someone, for example, mentions a type of rose that I'm not familiar with. It's a small size so it can be conveniently slipped into a purse when heading off to shop for roses!

In a sense, this book is out of date because it does not cover the really new roses and rose types. That said, it is probably otherwise one of the most detailed and comprehensive sources I've seen -- and I've looked at a lot of them. I bought it used and if you don't want to spring for Botanica, or whatever the next 'bible' turns out to be, this will probably meet most of your needs.

I bought this book as a present for my mother who loves to grow roses (she has a mere 91 plants) and she loved it. She immediately began tagging the roses she grows with those little pop up flags from Post-It. I don't grow roses, but found the information in this book interesting and helpful (Mom new a lot of it, but found it helpful none-the-less). The pictures can't be beat - they show each rose in all it's glory. The pictures are great. It is a paper back edition, but comes with a clear plastic dust jacket that is helpful for keeping the cover looking new. Honestly even if you just use it for the pictures you can't go wrong. It's a great book for anyone who loves and grows roses.

This is probably the best, most up to date, little handbook on roses available. The pictures are true to live to what you will see in your own garden. Not the enhanced versions you see in some books. Although the descriptions are brief, they give an adequate description of each rose. It covers old garden roses as well as the current David Austin roses. With as many pictures and descriptions this book has, it is a great resource of information. I carry this one around with me to nurseries. It even comes with its own plastic cover to protect it. You won't go wrong this book.