HOW TO GROW ROSES 



from their box-bordered beds or salute with decorum from 

 their chmber trelhses. Spellbound, one stands and gazes down 

 the long vista of color-shot beds, back-bordered with still 

 other climbers in tumultuous bloom; or absorbs the bewil- 

 dering prospect of cloistered arbors and festooned balustrades, 

 of quaint archway entrances and artistic screens; or dalhes 

 along disappearing pathways so ^^'eII planned that every 

 turn offers a fresh surprise, each one more entrancing than 

 the other! 



Hidden by an encirchng temple of trees deep in the heart of 

 this paradise is an open-air theater with turf seats, and, along 

 the front of the stage, for foothghts, a brilhant row of blooming 

 roses. Here, in charming French fashion, the host was wont to 

 entertain his guests with music — Hterally making this most 

 eloquent of gardens vocal!* (See illustration on page 158.) 



In England, before the war, nearly everyone grew roses. 

 Dazzling vistas of roses were to be seen in the hedge-rows, 

 along the country roads and lanes. Gardens fairly teemed with 

 flowers, and each person seemed to be striving in friendly 

 rivalry with his neighbor. What induced this extraordinary 

 enthusiasm for the rose? Simply the fact that it is without a 

 peer among all the flow^ering plants. The rose presents nearly 

 every floral shade, in combination far more seductive than 

 exotic orchids; and, above all, its delicious fragrance gives us 

 the enjoyment of another sense — the crowning feature, in 

 which no other flower can compete with it. 



When the French mystic. Constant, said, **Je ne suis pas la 

 rose, mais j'ai vecu avec elle (I am not the rose, but I have 

 hved near the rose)," he phrased happily the satisfied yearning 

 of many a heart for this incomparable comradeship. But it is 

 especially for those whose desire to "Hve with the rose" has 

 never been realized that this httle book has been wTitten. The 

 author's aim has been very practically and simply to show how 

 anyone, with no more than a shver of ground, may grow roses; 

 and at the same time to ignite other hearts with the ardor of 

 his own enthusiasm, with that latent passion for beauty that 

 rose-growing so surely releases. 



*If any reader wishes to visit Roseraie de I'Hay, access to which is by invitation only, 

 Mr. Robert Pyle, President of The Conard & Jones Co., West Grove, Pa., will gladly fur- 

 nish, upon request, a card to the present owner, M. Gravereaux, son of the founder. 



