The success of roses more than any other shrub depends upon careful consideration of each phase of their culture from the selection of the plants to their planting and maintenance. How to Grow Roses tells the easiest, simplest and most practical way to carry out all these details. - J. M. Bennett, The Detroit Free Press, July 13th, 1930

{HISTORY}

Chances are if you were a home gardener, a rose enthusiast, or a landscape designer in the early 20th century, you were already very familiar with Pyle, McFarland, and Stevens' bestselling book How to Grow Roses. 

Written by a trio of rose growers, editors, and horticultural experts, How to Grow Roses was first published in 1920 based on a pamphlet that Robert Pyle wrote in 1910.  Offering informative DIY-style instruction on how to select, grow, care for, and maintain roses of many varieties, not only did it offer the most easily digestible information on the subject with practical hands-on experience and lots of visual aids, but it also offered lists of rose varieties that grew well based on varying location and climate conditions around the United States. This location information was key to ensuring success for novice gardeners, so that not only their roses flourished but also long-term support of the industry as well. 

Of the three authors, Robert Pyle (1877-1951) was the one who spent the majority of his life in and around the rose community. An entry-level job propagating roses via cuttings, post-college, at a Pennsylvania seed company led to a fifty-year career lecturing, writing, gardening, and engaging with the international rose community. He is also credited with introducing the Peace Rose (first bred in France by Francis Meilland) to the United States. "Roses have led me in finding the trail of life," he said at a Winston-Salem Women's Club lecture in 1937. 

J. Horace McFarland and G. A. Stevens, rose experts in their own rights, were colleagues and comrades alongside Robert Pyle in the American Rose Society.  All three maintained a close relationship with each other via their passion for rose-growing, not only supporting but also inspiring one another to learn all they could about this beautiful, alluring, and captivating genus of flowers known as Rosa.

This edition of How to Grow Roses, published in December 1929 marks the 17th printing of the book.  Entirely rewritten and expanded by Robert Pyle, it's interesting to collect different versions of this book as subtle differences change from printing to printing. This one features an embossed, tone-on-tone coverboard with Robert's name featured first among the three authors. 

Filled throughout with beautiful color and black and white photographs along with detailed black and white line drawings, this book is lovely in both presentation and content. A 1981 gift inscription written in pen on the inside cover demonstrates how the allure of roses and the usefulness of such a book transcends years and the evolution time marking it just as valuable a resource in the 1930s as it is in the 2020s. 

Photo of Robert Pyle courtesy of The Winston-Salem Journal, Feb 21st, 1937

{SPECIAL FEATURES}

• 1930 Edition, 17th Printing 
• 210 pages
• Illustrated throughout
• A sticker from the Poppy Seed Company of Boston, MA is pasted on the inside back endpaper

{CONDITION}

In lovely vintage condition, this book is clean and bright throughout. There is light foxing and/or tanning on some pages and also along the foredge. The color illustrations are vibrant, the spine is tight and all pages are intact. The gift inscription on the front inside cover is written in black felt-tip pen and reads For Sue Some Christmas Roses Love (illegible) 1981. There is a white mark on the back cover (possibly paint) and the gold book title on the spine is wearing in some areas.  Please see photos.

{SIZE}

Measures 8" inches (length) x 5.5" inches (width) x 1.75" inches (thickness) and weighs 13 oz.