(1993)  Page(s) 13-14.  
 
American Beauty In the 1920s and 1930s, no dinner, ball, banquet, wedding, or society reception was complete with garlands, bowls and vases of 'American Beauty'... [E. Gurney] Hill, a leading grower of indoor roses, said that 'American Beauty' was grown by the hundreds of thousands. "Some places," he wrote, "are given over entirely to this one variety. It brings the highest price of any cut Rose, and is eagerly sought on account of its fragrance, its long stiff stem, its grandly beautiful foliage, as well as the loveliness of the bloom."... Right from its launch in 1886 the price per stem was at least two dollars, which meant that it was a rose for the rich... For over a quarter of a century, 'American Beauty' commanded the top prices. No wonder they called it the million-dollar rose... financier and high-society flyer "Diamond" Jim Brady... sent 'American Beauty' roses by the roomful to express his love for vivacious singer and actress Lillian Russel, who was known as the American Beauty... The color was copied in dyes and called -- what else -- American Beauty Red. The rose was very fragrant... when people today ask for (and they still do) 'American Beauty' roses, it won't be the original they will be given... The original 'American Beauty' exists today only in garden museums...

(1993)  Page(s) 112.  
 
Anita Charles is a friend who sings in Ralph Moore's church choir

(1993)  Page(s) 19.  
 
Charlotte Armstrong [was named for breeder, John S. Armstrong's wife...] It is still considered among the top roses of our time, selling millions of bushes since its introduction in 1940 and being in the background of many top roses...

(1993)  Page(s) 111.  
 
Clara Bow no longer in commerce

(1993)  Page(s) 111.  
 
Earthquake named soon after a quake hit the town of Coalinga, California...

(1993)  Page(s) 73.  
 
General Jacqueminot is a rose frequently found by those who search out historic roses in old homesteads and graveyards... 'General Jack' bears red, intensely fragrant blooms on a vigorous but not too tall bush (though it can reach six feet)... 'General Jack' is also famous for its role in hybridizing. A survey by the Iowa Experimental Station in Ames, Iowa, by Clark D. Paris and T.J. Maney in 1941 showed that there were 468 direct-line seedlings and 62 sports of this rose... [McCann recounts the legendary story behind the rose... one of Napoleon's favorite officers caught his own daughter in the arms of a young office and stabbed the boy to death... the daughter later died of a broken heart...] In the arbor where the lovers had been seated under a large pink rose bush, there appeared a short time afterward a stem, deep red and quite different from the original rose... [See source for more information]

(1993)  Page(s) 75.  
 
Grace de Monaco "The most wonderful of all my wedding presents" was how Princess Grace of Monaco described the soft, light pink hybrid tea named in her honor in 1956 by Meilland...

(1993)  Page(s) 112.  
 
Little Mike is one of Ralph's grandsons

(1993)  Page(s) 112.  
 
The first commercial naming of a rose was said to have been made by a French milliner, Mme. Caroline Testout, who picked a rose to help promote her business. The rose with her name went on to fame, and it's available yet today...

(1993)  Page(s) 103.  
 
Marechal Neil [The author presents a lot of information about this rose, here are some excerpts:] 'Marechal Neil', the most famous of all great climbing roses in American history, needs sun and warmth... It was said to have a short life even in warm climates, but I have seen it grown for many years in the garden of Ralph Moore in Visalia, in central California... named for a gentlemen who who had presided at the opening of a botanical garden in the vicinity of Montauban around 1863...