About us.
Already accomplished vegetable gardeners, my wife and I were forever corrupted by the iris bug some 25 years ago. The hybridizing bug struck shortly thereafter. Early on, two relatively small, but nonetheless life changing events took place that strongly shaped many of those interim years. First, Rick Tasco casually showed me how to do an iris cross. At that moment, I secretly felt like the recipient of the recipe for Coca-Cola and clearly remember practically shouting out loud, “Do you have any idea what you’ve just done!!?” I now had my first key to the kingdom.
The second event took place while my wife, Diane, and some of her rose-growing friends, were making one of their annual visits to Ralph Moore’s Miniature Rose Nursery in Visalia, California. In the world of roses, Mr. Moore is extremely well known. Actually, he’s World Known. Ralph deservingly carries the title of being The Father of the Miniature Rose. So if you presently own a miniature rose, at the very least, its ancestry can be traced right back though Mr. Moore’s caring hands.*
Quite truthfully, I had no particular interest in roses. The only honor that I had that day was being the designated chauffeur for a car full of giggling women. At one point during the day, I quite accidentally found myself in the uncomfortable position right at The Master’s elbow. Now what? Dutifully I struggled to make some cordial small-talk about his particular passion, (but not mine). For moments like this, everyone should have a list of intelligent sounding but otherwise dumb questions to fall back on. I remember winging this one. “With so many plants to choose from, how do you ever decide which ones to introduce?” He paused for a moment and then in a measured response said, “With so many already on the market, we only go with the one’s that are either 20% better or 20% different than what’s already out there.” That simple guideline made profound sense. And, I never ever forgot it.
Flash forward. After all these years of being a quiet, determined, and serious iris hybridizer, while employing the high standards of Mr. Moore, the time has finally come to introduce some of the children.
Our lofty goal is quite simple: to advance the kingdom of iris. In one way or another, you, our audience and potential customer, will help determine whether or not we are achieving that goal…..
Douglas and Diane Kanarowski
* In 2009, at the age of 102, Mr. Moore rose breeding career came to its natural, peaceful end.