This is a comprehensive guide to the most popular varieties of rose available, and how to get the best from every type. You can complete practical instructions for cultivating roses, from planting and pruning to nurturing and health care, all illustrated with clear step-by-step photographs. It features practical ideas for designing with roses, such as planting in mixed borders, using miniature and container roses for confined spaces, training climbing roses around pergolas, and raising standard roses. It explains the history of the rose, from ancient wild roses through to early hybrids and modern-day roses, as well as a guide to their botanical classification and naming. It includes a superb gallery of roses, including ramblers, floribunda, hybrid tea, patio and shrub roses, and over 275 evocative photographs of roses in all their glory. With its myriad hues, scents and shapes, the rose is the perfect companion to many plants in the garden, and will continue to give pleasure for many years. This book is a comprehensive guide to growing, maintaining and designing with the world's most enduring flower. It begins with a fascinating history of the rose, then provides instructions for planting and caring for roses in borders, as climbers, ramblers and standards, as well as how to grow ground-cover, miniature and container roses. A stunning gallery provides a selection of the most popular varieties available. For anyone who loves roses, this book is a treasure trove of information, advice and design ideas.