My eldest daughter brought me this book, Roses and Rose Gardens by Walter P. Wright back from a trip to Herefordshire earlier this year. I think perhaps it was the inspiration that made me catalogue all my books into a library. It has certainly made me search for more of the older books about roses.
The older the better. No doubt I will tell you about some of my others over time.
This book would inspire most people. Published in 1914 (the second edition; the first was published in 1911) it has the delightful musty smell of age and a few speckles of a rusty nature.
Inside there are six beautiful prints of Beatrice Parsons paintings of gardens, together with early photos and diagrams. They nearly make me forget about the content of the text which is about rose growing – planting, pruning and grafting but also includes the wider subjects of their history, use as a cut flower and their beauty and fragrance. A really great old book full of information and inspiration.
Inside old books you can find such intriguing snippets that have been left behind unnoticed. In this one there is a brown and tattered old ‘Carters Detailed List of Choice Named Gladioli and other Spring Planting and Summer Flower Bulbs’. It is only a small leaflet but if anyone is interested they are welcome. I know I would love similar about roses!
