It may be confidently asserted that roses are no longer a luxury, but a necessity. J. Horace McFarland, 1946

{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 flourished 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 1946, marks the 21st printing of what would become the most extensively circulated rose book of the early-to-mid 20th century. Completely updated by J. Horace McFarland and Robert Pyle, it's revised from the 1937 edition and reflects the latest information available on growing roses in the mid-1940s. 

It's so interesting to collect different versions of this book as subtle differences from printing to printing were made as the years progressed. This edition features a plethora of images both in color and black and white, an updated reference library list, and G.A. Stevens is no longer credited among the authors. 

Filled throughout with beautiful color and black and white photographs along with detailed black and white line drawings, this book is a beauty on all fronts. Light foxing throughout adds a lovely, aged aesthetic, and the illustrations and rose garden layouts offer oodles of inspiration for the modern-day rose enthusiast. 

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

{SPECIAL FEATURES}

• 1946 Edition, 21st Printing
• 192 pages
• Illustrated throughout
  

{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 fore-edge and a small tear along the exterior spine at the top edge. The color illustrations are vibrant, the spine is tight, and all pages are intact. The coverboards are very clean and bright.  Please see photos.

{SIZE}

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

{FOR THE ROSE GARDEN LOVER}

Find another 1930s editions of this book in the shop here.