If this DVD were a rose, it'd be a rambler: beautiful, but all over the place. Beginning in very early spring at the Planting Fields Arboretum at Coe Estate (Long Island, NY), viewers follow Head Rosarian Ellen Minet and her staff and volunteers as they care for roses year-round: pruning, fertilizing, tending to rose illnesses and diseases, deadheading, and putting roses to bed for the winter. Unfortunately, we don't even learn Ellen's name and title until well into the program, and though we hear about “Mario” (volunteer Mario Cardillo), he isn't formally introduced until October, when the program is almost over. Too, the production could have withstood a bit more pruning itself; we hear about the virtues of horse manure as fertilizer five times. On the other hand, Secrets of the Rose Gardener offers eye candy galore for the gardener or would-be gardener, and the bonus features are really outstanding, including a quick reference guide, Minet's demonstration for sharpening pruning shears, a music video called “The Beauty of Roses,” a tour inside Coe Hall, and directions to the Planting Fields Arboretum. Considering the super price, this is a welcome bouquet indeed for most public library collections. Recommended. Aud: P. (R. Reagan)
Secrets of the Rose Gardener
(2003) 70 min. DVD: $14.99. N9 International (dist. by Instructional Video). PPR. Color cover. Volume 19, Issue 4
Secrets of the Rose Gardener
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