As a companion piece, you can read an article I wrote, a few years back, on a journey to visit one of the roses Christopher discusses in that wonderful book.

Knowing that my Great Grandfather was somewhere near Appomattox Courthouse when the Articles of Surrender were signed, we decided to visit that "venerable rose bush." It was an extraordinary journey, with an unexpected conclusion:

missing-rosebush.pdf (goldcoast-roses.org)

That book was sent to me by a friend just after we moved into our house in 1989. It was our first Spring here, when I was wondering why I was seeing white roses growing at the top of a large 20' tall plum tree, what was going on with the flowers suddenly appearing on the roof of our garage, and why the large green "hedge" at the front of the property had suddenly covered itself in pink roses. So, I read it, and suddenly realized what all of the odd occurrences in my new garden were about. The book mentioned Graham Thomas, so I got all of the books I could find on roses which he had written, and I was doomed thereafter - nicely!

Jackie

I read "In Search of Lost Roses" in 1996, and its what got me started breeding roses.