Mention commercially-grown roses to purist Mr. Roger Phillips and he winces.

Turn the conversation to natural-grown roses, however, and his face lights up, for they are a subject dear to his heart.

So much so, in fact, that Mr. Phillips has travelled the globe in his quest for more knowledge about roses, and also to lecture on his discoveries.

He has written books on the subject and recently completed a television series for the British Broadcasting Corporation on The Quest for the Rose.

Such is his expertise, in fact, that, as sole tender of the locked residents' garden at Eccleston Square in London's fashionable Pimlico district, where he lives with his wife and family, over 260 different kinds of roses bloom.

Twice a year, when the garden is opened to the public as fund-raiser, more than 500 people flock to admire his handiwork.

In Bermuda this week as a guest of the Bermuda Rose Society, Mr. Phillips took time during his brief visit to see and learn more about Bermuda's Old Garden Roses, some of which are known as mystery roses because they have not been officially identified.

Bermuda's Old Garden Roses, he said, were reminiscent of what he saw on an expedition to the foothills of the Himalayas in south-west China, where many varieties of roses grow wild, and Chinas and Teas abound.

"A Bermudian gardener arriving in the backwoods of China would feel reasonably at home,'' he noted. "The climate and temperatures in the region, which borders Tibet, are perfect for roses.'' As a result, Mr. Phillips said, roses could be seen everywhere -- bordering the countless farms and fields, in ditches and hedgerows, and also in the garden of every home, even the most humble.

"The Chinese absolutely love roses,'' he explained. "You will commonly see one rose bush in a domestic garden and nothing else. In fact, exchanging cuttings is a cottage industry among the Chinese.'' That Bermuda's climate is similar to the warm regions of China is the reason why Chinas and teas flourish here.

As to why certain species remain "mystery'' roses in Bermuda, the author explained that, after Chinas and Teas were brought to Europe during the last century, their popularity grew, and they were carried far and wide.

He speculated that British settlers "probably brought them to Bermuda when they came''. Meanwhile, over time Chinas and Teas had died out in Europe and Britain because of the inhospitable climate, and people have forgotten the details of their origins.

To clear up the mysteries, he suggested that "the best you can do is look at an old illustration or drawing and try to identify the rose back from that.

That is how you get the names for some of the Bermudian roses.'' Asked how home gardeners might best nurture their roses, Mr. Phillips said they needed only light trimming and fertilisation.

"Bermuda's Chinas and Teas are much better not cut back,'' he said. "Trim off bits if they are in the way, or generally shape or control the bush, but that's all. Otherwise, let it go and you will get a much more wild shape. It is much more fashionable in gardening today to have more natural-looking plants.'' To get "wonderful blooms'' Mr. Phillips said growers should "invest in good manure''.

"Roses improve with plenty of food, and the very best is good, well-rotted manure,'' he said.

They also liked potash, which was easily applied through scattering the ashes of a wood fire around the roots of the bush.

Trained as a painter at the Chelsea School of Art, Mr. Phillips came to his present occupation as an author and presenter through his fascination with photography and modern technology.

His first job on leaving school was working in a London advertising agency. It was during the late 1950s and photography was taking off as an important tool of the trade.

During a 13-year career in advertising, lastly as an agency art director, Mr.

Phillips met and worked with many of the world's leading photographers, and increasingly used their work in his layouts.

So fascinated was he with the medium, and what he learned from the professionals, that he became a freelance photographer himself, specialising in advertising and editorial work.

Narrowing his concentration to editorial photography, Mr. Phillips worked on editorial projects for various publishers, and principally illustrations for cookery books.

In 1977 he published his first book, Wild Flowers of Great Britain (Pan Books), which became a best seller.

The rest is history.

Today, Roger Phillips has published 19 books on a wide variety of topics, including grasses, ferns, mosses and lichens; mushrooms and other fungi; herbs; shrubs; early and late perennials; freshwater fish; birds; butterflies; minerals; vegetables; bulbs; and wild food.

The latter, which gave recipes for the preparation and cooking of edible wild plants and mushrooms, won the author a Cookery Book of the Year award for its original contribution to culinary knowledge.

Of his two rose books, the second, The Quest for the Rose, was recently produced as a six-part television series for the British Broadcasting Corporation in collaboration with Mr. Martyn Rix.

"We travelled around the world on a carefully-planned route from California to Britain to catch the roses in season and filming took a year,'' Mr.

Phillips recounted.

All of his books remain in print and are considered standard text all over the world. Worldwide sales exceed two million to date.

Naturally, the author does all of his own photography, while his son Sam works on "the interactive design''.

Mr. Phillips works on several books simultaneously, and each one takes about five years to publish.

Claiming to be Europe's "most prolific illustrator of all time'', Roger Phillips leads a busy and exciting life, regularly criss-crossing the globe to give lectures and pursue his various subjects.

Gung-ho on modern technology, the author is also using it more and more to enhance his work.

"We are getting into the electronic publishing world with CD ROMS, so Sam works on the interactive designs,'' he explained. "I think modern technology is great and we should use it to do nice things.'' When it comes to growing commercial roses, however, Mr. Phillips draws the line at modern technology. Indeed, they are a thorn in his purist side.

"I think they're absolute rubbish,'' he said. "Commercial roses are specifically bred to have long, straight stems; to not open properly and therefore have a long shelf life. Basically, they can be cut and kept for a month under the proper conditions, which is why florists like them.'' The fact that commercial roses have no scent is another "minus''.

Scent, Mr. Phillips said, was so important that a British developer, Mr. David Austin, was currently developing roses which "look like old roses but on good, strong stocks and putting the scent back.'' Modern roses had no scent because developers had capitalised on a passion for other characteristics: bright colours (vivid reds, oranges and yellows), repeated flowering, and big blooms.

"In doing that, they ignored scent,'' Mr. Phillips said. "Scented stock comes from the old European roses, such as the Gallica.'' "Nowadays, people are not interested in the biggest rose in the world. They are also getting so they don't worry about the colour either. Primary colours are going out and subtle colours with scent are coming back.'' Rose scent, he noted, was sometimes thought of as an aphrodisiac, "which is of course why you have rose perfume made from the Damascus rose''.

Because rose scent is so durable, the ancient Egyptians thought that by placing blooms in the tomb of the deceased, they would live forever.

Historically, roses could be traced back to the beginning of history, and "the oldest remnant'' of roses Mr. Phillips found in a dig in Colorado was deemed to be 30,000 years old.

In his research into the history and mythology of roses, the author also learned that seven to eight hundred years before Christ (BC) references to roses were found in the libraries of the Greek and Roman times. They were also mentioned in the Sanskrit; and in Homer's Iliad Hector's body was anointed with rose oil to help keep him alive while passing over the river Hades.

In Greek mythology, Venus and Aphrodite were associated with the rose. "The rose is a symbol of love, though from time to time it is muddled up with being a sexual symbol,'' Mr. Phillips explained.

PICKING UP THE SCENT -- Visiting author and presenter Mr. Roger Phillips (left) admires the Papa Gontier Tea Rose, seen growing in a local garden.

During his first visit to the Island this week as a guest of the Bermuda Rose Society, Mr. Phillips viewed many Old Garden Roses, of which the Souvenir de la Malmaison (bottom right), a Bourbon known here as the Bridal Rose, is one of the most popular. He also learned that other classes of roses also thrive here, such as the colourful red miniature (top right).