In the late 1990s, when John Bagnasco was chief rose buyer for Armstrong
Garden Centers, a colleague chided him for not growing any roses in his
home garden. “I thought, ‘he’s right’ and I decided to give them a try,”
Bagnasco says. Today, more than 1,000 roses thrive on the half-acre
garden around Bagnasco’s Fallbrook home. But his collection is different;
the majority of the roses are rare and in danger of disappearing. Some are
the last of their kind anywhere. “It’s one of my obsessions now —
preserving rose genetics,” said the veteran horticulturist who is co-host and
president of the nationally syndicated “GardenLife Radio Show” that
reaches more than a million listeners every weekend. Members free,
guests $15. 6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Come early to enjoy the social hour,
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