Chicago Botanic Garden

Education — Lenhardt Library

Current Books & Book Reviews

PHOTO: bookcover

Dermot O’Neill.
Roses Revealed.
Batavia, Ill.: Ball Publishing, 2007.
decorated boards, 192 pp., ISBN 1–883–05258–4, $39.95.

Roses are prized and long remembered for their beauty. Author Dermot O’Neill has selected his favorite roses, cleverly organizing them not by their color as usual, but by their design qualities or special uses, such as for scent or as architectural elements. His descriptions point out both the positive and negative characteristics of a plant in individual profiles. The author’s tips on culture, propagation, and pest- and disease-control reflect the long experience of an expert plantsman. Completing the work are several useful reference materials: a glossary, a list of suppliers, and a summary listing of rose varieties for different uses. Gorgeously illustrated with full-color photographs, this is an excellent guide for all gardeners, landscape designers, and landscape architects.

— Marilyn K. Alaimo, garden writer and volunteer, Chicago Botanic Garden.