The Color of Roses: A Curated Spectrum of 300 Blooms

by Danielle Dall'Armi Hahn, Victoria Pearson (Photographer)

Overview

“The roses are glorious! The story of the rose farm, incredible. The photographs by Victoria Pearson, utterly extraordinary.”—MARTHA STEWART

A unique photographic collection of 300 stunning roses that spans the full spectrum of the flower’s shades and hues, creating a breathtaking rainbow that will amaze flower lovers of all kinds.

Few flowers come in as many colors as the beloved rose. Curated by award-winning rosarian Danielle Dall’Armi Hahn, who personally owns more than 40,000 roses, the flowers in The Color of Roses were selected not only for their glorious and subtle color combinations but also for optimal availability, repeat blooming, disease resistance, improved vase life, and fragrance.

Organized by color, these 300 full-page photos take you on a journey through all the marvelous shades of white, yellow, pink, peach, purple, orange, red, caramel, and even green blossoms—not to mention striped and bicolor. This modern compilation of the world’s 300 most beautiful roses includes the essential statistics for each one, including name, plant type and size, breeder, and more to help gardeners, rose lovers, and floral designers discover their new favorite.

Roses have been treasured for centuries. They bloom from spring until frost, in virtually all but the most frigid zones and in a great range of varieties to suit every taste. The Color of Roses is the ultimate guide for selecting the perfect color rose for your garden, special event, or floral arrangement.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781984861160
Publisher:	Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed
Publication date:	03/28/2023
Pages:	336
Sales rank:	219,904
Product dimensions:	6.70(w) x 8.00(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Danielle Dall'Armi Hahn is the owner of Rose Story Farm in Carpinteria, California, which has over 40,000 rose bushes. She is an active member of the American Rose Society, has received the Great Rosarians of the World Award, and has been featured in Sunset, Martha Stewart Living, the Wall Street Journal, Better Homes & Gardens, Oprah Daily, Veranda, Wine Country Living, Victoria magazine, and on the Today show.

Victoria Pearson is a West Coast-based photographer. Her work has appeared in Travel + Leisure, Condé Nast Traveler, Martha Stewart Living, Veranda, House Beautiful, Better Homes & Gardens, and the book Citrus: Sweet and Savory Sun Kissed Recipes. Victoria enjoys gardening and grows fruit trees, vegetables, herbs, and, of course, roses.

Read an Excerpt

Introduction


Many people have a strong memory of seeing and smelling their first rose. That’s where this love affair started for me. I remember that day in my grandmother’s garden and the rose—Sutter’s Gold. It had the most beautiful fragrance and form, but, oh, what a color! It was an intriguing golden yellow with sepia undertones and outer petals where distinct veins of melon pink transitioned to russet at the edges. My grandmother was a rosarian, and her love for roses continues to inspire, guide, and encourage my own journey with this elegant flower.

When my husband and I met, we quickly discovered that our shared passion was the garden, and, specifically, the rose garden. Over the next ten years, we created several small personal rose gardens in our homes. When we arrived at our current farm more than thirty years ago, it was clear that we would need dozens of roses for the houses on the property, all built at the turn of the nineteenth century and crying out for romantic shrub roses in all colors of the rainbow.

In 1995, I entered my first rose exhibition. I came home with a few blue ribbons, which as a novice was completely unexpected. Not long after this modest success, visitors began stopping by to see our roses. One of them was a well-respected floral designer. He asked if he could cut a few roses for an arrangement someone had ordered. Rose Story Farm was born.

As we grew the farm, our thinking about rose selection evolved. Blocks of color in various shades and multiple varieties appealed to designers. As we developed our business selling cut flowers to the trade, our rose collection expanded. We now cut from more than 40,000 rose plants for the national floral trade and event design world. We began to host tours and educational seminars emphasizing the simplicity and ease of growing roses. There are a few simple guidelines that begin with the choice of a disease-resistant variety in a desirable color. As we had more visitors, we began to receive requests to design and maintain private gardens. We now maintain a nursery with rose plants that have been carefully curated for our garden clients. The plants we recommend for gardens are all fragrant, all good cutting varieties, and encompass a full range of colors. A primary interest to all our clients (designers, gardeners, and rose enthusiasts) is color and how to choose roses within a desired color palette.

I take heart knowing that roses can be grown just about anywhere. All our children have roses around their homes, from an apartment balcony in Dublin, Ireland, where a single bloom of iceberg planted in a pot is doted on, to a small backyard in Houston, Texas, where a Julia Child rose pumps out the blooms, to Altadena, California, where our daughter and her husband have planted a serious rose garden that is a major focus of their spare time. We have clients across the country growing roses, many with unique challenges. But the challenges come with sweet rewards.

It has been a dream of mine to write a book about roses, sharing my love for these gorgeous beauties and demystifying them for both gardener and flower arranger. A great number of books about roses seem to emphasize their complexities and the difficulties encountered in their cultivation. My experience has been very different, and I appreciate the simple and straightforward nature of their place in our gardens and in our homes. I find roses easy to grow, easy to cut and arrange, and always gratifying.

The purpose of this book is to provide a reference and color guide for those choosing plants for their gardens, designing for a special event, planning for home floral arrangements, or simply dreaming about a future full of roses.

Editorial Reviews

The roses are glorious! The story of the rose farm, incredible. The photographs by Victoria Pearson, utterly extraordinary. I have been collecting, planting, and growing roses for many, many years and I am encouraged by this intelligent, instructive, and enlightening story to start an entirely new rose garden. You will be as inspired as I am to collect as many of the three hundred different, delightful roses described by Danielle Dall’Armi Hahn for your own personal garden. Happy gardening!”—Martha Stewart

“What I love about Danielle is that she so generously shares her expert knowledge with others—her love of roses is absolutely contagious. This extensive book is brimming with beautiful rose portraits in every possible shade so readers can identify the perfect varieties for their garden. The Color of Roses is a true celebration of this beloved cut flower.”—Erin Benzakein, author of Floret Farm’s A Year in Flowers and Floret Farm’s Cut Flower Garden

“Danielle is the ultimate rose whisperer. The Color of Roses is an exquisite must-read, must-have for anyone who is drawn to the sublime world of roses.”—Julia Louis Dreyfus, actress/producer, environmental activist, rose lover

“When you love roses as much as I do, it can be overwhelming to select which varieties to grow. This book, as beautiful as it is, is also a true planting companion, revealing in exquisite detail not only the roses’ vast range of colors but also the forms, scents, and growth habits of these cherished plants.”—Stephen Orr, editor in chief of Better Homes and Gardens

“The Color of Roses is the book that every rose lover has been searching for. Danielle pairs stunning images of her favorite specimens with all the information we rose aficionados need to create our own personal rose story.”—Brooke Giannetti, founder of Giannetti Home and creator of Velvet & Linen

From the Publisher

12/16/2022

Hahn, a recognized expert on roses and the owner of Rose Story Farm, has created a catalog of 300 recommended roses, each on its own page accompanied by a photograph. After a brief introduction, the roses are organized by color, starting with the palest varieties and moving through to the darker shades. Each entry contains the rose name, breeder, type of plant, size, floriferousness, and fragrance level. Pearson's photographs are detailed, clear, and vivid; any imperfections on the gorgeous blooms are included. The roses are not divided into sections, so readers will have to page through to find the color they seek. Given the beauty of the images, they probably won't mind. VERDICT Recommended as a secondary purchase for libraries with a large gardening collection.—Judy Poyer

Library Journal