Roses Down Under

Book excerpt: The rose is undoubtedly the most popular garden flower in the world. When settlers came from the Northern Hemisphere to Australia and New Zealand they brought their treasured roses with them. Roses Down Under follows the way roses may have been introduced into both countries where they not indigenous. In each country enthusiastic gardeners and Rosarians such as Alister Clark and Ron Bell in Australia and Ken Nobbs and Sam McGredy in New Zealand were inspired to develop their own varieties. There is a chapter dealing with the complexities of hybridisation, going through the process step by step, so the reader can follow in their footsteps. Various rose breeders from both countries, both professional and amateur, are listed, together with numerous photographs of their significant varieties. These illustrate the differences, as well as the similarities, of roses produced in Australia and New Zealand since the days of the first settlers. The Victoria State Rose Garden at Werribee, outside Melbourne, has been chosen to represent the large number of rose gardens in Australia, with many photographs illustrating the diverse collection of roses growing there. In New Zealand, the Trevor Griffiths Rose Garden in Timaru was chosen because of the comprehensive nature of roses planted in that very interesting garden. The final chapter asks where roses will be in the future. Will varieties produced in each country be similar, or very different? One thing is sure. They will always be, for gardeners, the Queen of Flowers.