I am not a rose expert; I am not even an experienced grower of roses. But I can safely claim to be a rose lover.

I have a vivid mental picture of a backyard of long ago in which there was a huge bush of velvet Jacqueminot roses; higher than my head, and a still bigger Paul Neyron. I know this is not the approved way to grow roses; they should be cut back for the sake of larger and later blooms, but they were eminently satisfactory to us. In those days the Gen. Jack was to me the rose par excellence; I could fancy nothing finer. In between these two were a large white rose and a pink tea, whose names I have forgotten, and in other parts of the yard were three old-fashioned dull-red single roses.

Since then I have always wanted roses, and the first spring after we acquired a backyard of our own we set out a few choice varieties—Frau Karl Druschki, Killarney, Etoile de France, La France, Soleil d’Or, American Beauty, Caroline Testout, and Viscount Folkstone. It is only a little rose bed, and has not done altogether well. Caroline Testout died the first winter, and some of the others have had a hard struggle; but they have given us pleasure, and with more fertilizing and a little lime and continued care and cultivation I think we shall succeed.

I still love the “Jack,” but have come to believe that the Killarney, with its heavenly pink blossoms and perfect buds, is the finest rose grown, though the sturdy white Karl Druschki presses it hard. The Soleil d’Or is a sort of interloper, being an Austrian briar that must not be pruned, but its clusters of golden flowers add piquancy to the garden.

Now if this were all I had to tell about roses there would be small gain in writing of them; but it has been my privilege to observe day by day a much larger rose garden and to make notes of those varieties that pleased me most. These notes I am preserving against the day when I shall have a larger backyard and greater opportunities for rose growing. Meantime it has occurred to me that they might be of service to other amateur gardeners who would be planting roses.

I claim nothing for this list except that it records a rose lover’s personal preferences, whereas the catalogue lists seem to claim superior excellence for every variety in them. I have arranged them according to color, which the catalogues seldom do, and, as is customary, I have let the letters H. P. stand for hardy perennial, and H. T. for hybrid tea. Here, then, is my list:

Dark red;—Etoile de France (H.T.). Free blooming, deep crimson, very hardy. Perhaps the best known of the dark reds.
Prince C. de Rohan, or Camille de Rohan (H. P.). Similar to Etoile de France in color.
Jubilee (H. P.). Very dark and velvety. Blooms hold their color when old.

Medium red:—General Jacqueminot (H. P.). The old, unsurpassed favorite. Very desirable.
Ulrich Brunner (H. P.). Brilliant red. Very fragrant.
Captain Hayward (H. P.). Similar to Ulrich Brunner.
John Keynes (H. P.). A free bloomer.

Light red:—Captain Christy (H. P.). Not common.
Hugh Dickson (H. P.). A new rose of high quality.

Deep pink:—Lady Ashtown (H. T.). Sometimes a lighter pink shading to salmon.

Medium pink:—La France (H. T.). A perfect pink. Perhaps the most popular rose in cultivation. Also red and white varieties.
Killarney (H. T.). A perfect bud opening to a semi-double bloom. Also a white form.
My Maryland (H. T.). Another beauty with long, graceful buds.
Mme. Caroline Testout (H. T.). Similar to La France.
Mme. Gabriel Luizet (H. P.). Large, full blooms.
Mrs. John Laing (H. P.). Fragrant, free flowering. Fairly deep pink. Very sturdy.
Souvenir du President Carnot (H. T.). Turns rather light.

Light pink:—Clio (H. P.). Large blooms.
Mrs. R. G. Sharman Crawford (H. P.). Similar.

White:—Frau Karl Druschki (H. P.). One of the grandest, sturdiest roses grown.
Baroness Rothschild (H. P.). Turns pinkish.
Mabel Morrison (H. P.). Turns pinkish.

Coppery and salmon shades:—Mme. Abel Chatenay (H. T.). Pink flushed with orange.
Prince of Bulgaria, or Prince de Bulgarie (H. T.). A new rose of fine quality.
Mrs. Aaron Ward (H. T.). Long stems. Color varies.
Mme. Ravary (H. T.). Beautiful orange tint. Not always a strong grower.

Yellow:—Lady Hillingden (H. T.). Rare.
Alfred Colomb(H. P.). More often red.
Gloire Lyonnaise (H. P.). Very pale lemon yellow.
Soleil d’Or (Austrian briar). Perhaps the finest of the yellows except the climbers.

For large bushes:—Paul Neyron (H. P.). Pink. Very hardy. Flowers as large as a peony.
Conrad F. Meyer. A rugosa hybrid. Yellowish pink. Very fragrant and hardy.

There are literally hundreds of others, and I know I have omitted somebody's favorite, but I can recommend this list for any one to begin on who has a backyard and wants roses in it.