California, United States

I got my first miniature rose, Beauty Secret, in the mail from Miles Kimball while still a teenager. I remember the root "cylinder" was wrapped in foil. I actually managed to keep it alive on my windowsill for some months before it succumbed; by then I was hooked.

I have always specialized in minis, since I don't have much ground for "big" roses but lots of room for smallish pots. It took me years to develop a custom soil mix that allowed me to not kill a large part of my collection every summer under those conditions.

After years of just growing whatever struck my fancy, I decided some years back to concentrate on micro-minis, the oldest of the minis, and a few favorites that have special significance, such as Beauty Secret and Cupcake.

A treasured memory is meeting Ralph Moore near the end of his career. I like to think that the reason a couple of his final introductions were smaller roses was our discussion, where I expressed my preference for that type. He did me the honor of asking my opinion of a some of the roses he was trialling - though I can't remember if any made it to production.

I try to grow as organically as possible, not caring about perfection; I am interested in the plants as "pets", not for exhibition and competition (which I don't do).

Experienced (46 years)

Last visit: More than a year ago