Roses are the anchor plants in my gardens; I grow them for their exquisite beauty, their amazing diversity of color and form, and their long blooming season. I'm also a research analyst by profession, and tend to bring that mindset to gardening. I have a large collection of reference books on rose culture from which I've learned a lot, but the best learning comes from my own experience. That includes having cultivated rose gardens in three very different settings over the past 25 years, and overcoming a wide assortment of challenges. I enjoy combining my interest in gardening with my love of photography, and have taken Best In Show in the photography division of the American Rose Society's Annual Convention. I think of my photographs as "botanical portraits" that are typically characterized by a shallow depth of field and a distinctive combination of light and shadow.