Secrets de roses. Une encyclopédie illustrée

19 × 28 cm 384 pages 560 color illustrations hardback april 2021 retail price: 36 €

Born into a family of nursery owners in the Orleans region, Jean-Claude Foucard (1951-2020) grafted his first rose bushes at the age of twelve. A horticultural engineer, he spent his whole professional life in contact with roses and rose bushes. His career as a researcher, consultant, producer and grower has given him a unique knowledge of rose gardens.

Une encyclopédie illustrée SECRETS OF ROSES

An illustrated encyclopaedia

Jean-Claude Foucard Preface by Patrick Mioulane Illustrations by Maxime Foucard

With its delicious fragrances, its delicate colors, and its diversity of blooms, from its first appearance in the gardens of Antiquity, the rose has always engendered passion and wonder. Over the centuries, gardeners have tended to it and transformed it with love and affection. Today the rose bush is the most cultivated ornamental plant in the world and there are over 50,000 varieties. There is still much to discover about the “queen of flowers” and this extensively illustrated book reveals many secrets of the bud. We follow the rose’s journey from the wild into the domestic garden. We discover how rose growers, by crossing rose varieties of different origins, have obtained longer lasting blooms, unexpected colors, surprising forms, fresh fragrances and plants that are more disease resistant. We also learn about the rose aroma, its medicinal virtues, how to use the bloom in cooking or cosmetics, where to find the rose villages and rose gardens of the world, as well as the rosediscovery tourist trails. This attractive work also presents a selection of one hundred and fifty rose varieties that are floriferous, fragrant and disease resistant and suitable for a host of growing contexts - for decorating walls or fences, creating thick ornamental hedges, rewilding a garden, brightening up a patio, or bringing color to flowerbeds or embankments – or climatic conditions – the roses to grow in mountainous areas or beside the sea, in wetlands or in hot dry areas. Finally the author explains, step-by-step how to plant roses, maintain them, and prune them, how to deter bugs and diseases, and how to maintain the equilibrium of a garden if your roses are blighted.

No such comprehensive book about roses exists today. It is a must for all rose aficionados, an essential reference work for all gardening homes.