Friends of the North Shore Library to Discuss Roses of Southern Wisconsin

The Friends of the North Shore Library will hold their Annual Meeting on Tuesday at 7 p.m.  to discuss “Great Roses for Southern Wisconsin” presented by Bruce and Maggie Barr, past presidents of the Greater Milwaukee Rose Society and judges for the American Rose Society.

They will discuss how to select rose cultivars for gardens here in the Milwaukee area. This event is free and open to the public, so come with your questions or just to hear the suggestions from these professionals. 

There is something special about roses.  They bring back memories and make us smile.  Wayne Winterrowd asked 33 eminent gardeners to write about their favorite rose in his book Roses: A Celebration (635.933 W788).  You will not get a lot of help here in selecting an appropriate rose for your garden since there is a decidedly British flair to these essays, but you will certainly get a sense for the love that a simple rose bush can evoke.

For a more practical approach, there are a variety of books in the 635.933 section of the North Shore Library that can help with both the selection and the care of roses.  Check out some of the following:

Jackson & Perkins Beautiful Roses Made Easy – Midwestern Edition by Teri Dunn and Melinda Myers

Landscaping with Roses by Robert J. Dolezal

Ortho’s All About the Easiest Roses to Grow by Tommy Cairns

Reliable Roses: Easy-to-Grow Roses That Won’t Let You Down by Philip Harkness

Roses by Hazel White and the Editors of Sunset Books

Joe Eck and Wayne Winterrowd, two garden designers, write about the joy of gardening in their book Our Life in Gardens (635 E190).  Of course, they include a chapter on roses.  “From the beginning of our garden, it has been our custom during Rose Season to pick one from each bush and arrange them in bowls in the house, for their fragrance and to study their differences, maybe even to identify them individually, though alas, we have forgotten many of their names.  Now there are so many roses in the garden that they will not fit into a single bowl, and so several are required, on the dining table, on the coffee table, and by each of our bedsides.  Their fragrance is a haunt, all day long and well into our dreams.”  It makes me want to go select another rose bush that is just perfect for my yard!