This month's Ezine is a tribute to the world renown rose hybridizer Ralph Moore. He died of natural causes on Monday evening September 14th.  He was 102 and by all accounts lived a very full and rewarding life to the very end.

Enjoy the essays we have collected from a few of the many lives he touched. Please also feel free to contribute your memories, thoughts and photos too. You can do so using the Comments & Questions tab for this introduction.

Our thanks to Jim Delahanty for initiating and organizing this tribute.

I've never met Mr. Moore but I'm confident he would not mind my including an obscurely related topic here. Actually, I like to think he would be pleased.

It's pretty obvious these are difficult times for many businesses but keep in mind nurseries are a breed of their own. We can certainly do with one less sneaker store at the mall and we really do not need two of the same drug store chain within 5 miles. They can be replaced in a few months anyway.

Private nurseries on the other hand are labors of love often cultivated over years and years. The low profit margins make it extremely difficult to survive in down times and preclude the startup of new nurseries given the large financial and up front time commitments required.

Unless we support them, even when our budgets are tighter, we are all destined to end up growing the same two dozen roses the mega chain stores sell at a loss to entice us through their doors. Offering varied and unusual varieties is costly - support your favorite private nursery where you can before it's too late.