For five years volunteer Christopher has devoted his time and talents to The Carter Center’s rose garden, using his extensive knowledge of roses to make a lasting contribution to the Center. If you visit the Carter Center’s rose garden today, you will get a good idea of Christpher’s dedication to his volunteer work.

Christopher’s love of roses comes from his grandparents who were expert gardeners. He’s been around roses and growing them since he can remember…4 or 5 years old. He has grown roses everywhere, in California, Texas, and now Georgia. Christopher is the former President of the Greater Atlanta Rose Society and has been the chair of many of the annual Mother’s Day Rose Shows at the Atlanta Botanical Garden. Presently, he is the Vice President, serving as the society’s newsletter editor and maintaining the group’s social media profiles and website.

Fortunately for the Center, Christopher was looking for a way to give back to the City of Atlanta, and as a longtime admirer of the Carters and The Carter Center, Christopher was thrilled to learn of the rose garden. As a member of The Greater Atlanta Rose Society, part of what Christopher believes is most important with the Rose Society is to help and be affiliated with a public rose garden. He was very excited to see the partnership with The Carter Center all come together.

Initially, Christopher read an article about the Carters and their love of gardening. This led him to the Carter Center to explore the rose garden. After he saw it, he talked to the board at the Greater Atlanta Rose Society about getting involved, and things just progressed from there.

As a volunteer, Christopher has made numerous and priceless contributions to the Carter Center’s rose garden. As a member of the board, Christoper is the Editor of The Phoenix, which is the monthly newsletter of GARS (Greater Atlanta Rose Society), and he also oversees the GARS website and social media. He uses these sites to publicize the Carter Center rose garden, taking beautiful pictures of the Center’s roses and encouraging other members of GARS to volunteer their time on gardening Saturdays. Besides that, he also provides our volunteers and staff with insight and information regarding pruning, best practices for rose gardens and keeping the roses healthy. His advice has been priceless.

In addition, Christopher continues to add, at no cost to the Center, disease-resistant roses, excellent bloomers, and rosebushes that have fragrances and that can thrive with less water once they are established. Christopher describes the future of the rose garden as “great,” and part of that is all he does to help the Center improve the durability and the sustenance of the current roses in the garden.

As for the garden itself, Christopher’s favorite things are the colors, smells, textures, and sounds. He adds that “the birds LOVE the rose garden!” Christopher also loves the design and the location within the campus. “The garden has such a cheerful atmosphere,” he says. “It welcomes you in and just demands that you relax and enjoy.”
Christopher has enjoyed working at The Carter Center. He says that everyone is just so kind and generous, from the staff, the volunteers, and the visitors. His favorite thing about volunteering is the people. He says he has made so many wonderful new friends here. “It’s such an honor to be a part of such an important institution. I know that it makes a massive difference and it’s great to see things just keep improving greatly as the years go on,” says Christopher.

Christopher’s favorite rose ever is the Grandiflora ‘Aquarius’. He is trialing some of his own hybrids for future introduction. With more than 500 rosebushes in his own yard, Christopher describes rose gardening as just magical, providing beauty and enjoyment nine to ten months out of the year! He wants people to know that roses aren’t hard, that you just need the right rose for you and your situation.

As for volunteering, Christopher says it truly brings out the best in people. “Like-minded souls just flock together,” he says. “It does give you a sense that there is still goodness and kindness in the world. the Carter Center volunteer program is just stellar…hats off to everyone!”

In his professional career, Christopher’s educational background is in marketing and promotions. He has worked in the fine jewelry industry and the luxury haircare and skincare industry. However, he has always been around real estate. He has a broker in the family. When Christopher moved to Atlanta, he knew it was the right time to pursue that career.

He is currently a realtor at Dorsey Alston, (a founding partner of The C&S Group Atlanta), and an Atlanta real estate expert. When he is not volunteering, Christopher enjoys his job as a busy realtor, traveling, reading, and spending time with his other half Matthew, and his two doggies (the Whippet sisters) Sydney and Starling.