Empress of the Garden - Tapa dura

"Growing roses as landscape plants in Southern gardens for 30 years has given me more insight into their value--and magic--than I could have imagined...Unlike the stereotypical modern princesses bred for floral perfection, old garden roses have engaging personalities that belong to no other plants. They can enhance the garden in many ways, posing as party girls spinning on a dance floor or playing the voluptuous drama queens as they flirt from arbors."—G. Michael Shoup

Gardens never stop teaching their gardeners, and G. Michael Shoup—a key figure in the renaissance of old rose varieties--shares 30 years of practical and poetics wisdom in this book. At his Antique Rose Emporium display garden in Independence, Texas—designated a Hall of Fame Garden by the Great Rosarians of the World--Shoup has become intimately acquainted with the growth habits and personalities of hundreds of old garden roses.

He gathers them here in a most useful manner—divided not strictly by formal classes but by the nuanced nature of their usefulness as landscape plants. Shoup knows that merely describing a plant as a "climber" doesn't give gardeners nearly the information they need to enjoy the wonders of the old rose universe.

His first book, Roses in the Southern Garden, separated vigorous from mannerly climbers and large shrubs from small ones; but with this update he takes readers deeper into the realm of these empresses, exploring their character traits in ways that give new meaning to the idea of gardening as a therapeutic activity.

The sumptuous photographs of Empress of the Garden will inspire those who garden for romance. Novices and seasoned rosarians will also appreciate Shoup's advice on the many aspects of growing roses. And anyone who has wielded pruning shears or who aspires to create a where roses reign will find his stories appealing.

G. Michael Shoup, who founded The Antique Rose Emporium in 1983, lives and gardens with his family in the countryside near Brenham, Texas. He is also the author ofRoses in the Southern Garden. The Antique Rose Emporium has been designated a Hall of Fame Garden by the Great Rosarians of the World. The display gardens draw 50,000 visitors a year.