My husband, \\The CFO/CIO, and all-around Handyman

If you told my husband Bob Rosenberger 3 years ago, that soon he would be setting up and co-running a rose nursery, he would have told you that you were crazy. But here he is, now married to me, and we are doing this thing together! Honestly, he’s rocking it!

Hummingbird Roses at my last location, being just run by single me, did not thrive. I am not handy. I cannot build things, install water lines and mist systems, work full time (albeit, at home) and take care of a 3-acre property and 500 roses, by myself. I mean, I gave it 100%, but 100% was just not enough. 

I met Bob on Christian Mingle. I had sworn I was never getting on another dating website for as long as I lived, but the Lord wanted me to, and put this insistent though in my head, almost daily, that I needed to. Finally, I gave it and did and promptly met Bob.  In February 2026, we celebrated having been married for 2 years, and I must say, that God did send me his blessing when he sent me Bob. He is very good at building pretty much anything I can dream up, dig and run irrigation lines, erect greenhouses, plant and help maintain the display gardens, plus he has good business sense. He quickly promoted from ‘Assistant to the Apprentice Laborer’ (which is the lowest of titles I’m told!) to CFO and CIO combined. He is retired from the City of Flint, Michigan, and I am not retired ……..yet. The goal is to do that in a couple of years, and we will then both give Hummingbird Roses our full-time focus.

I am very impressed with how quickly Bob is learning about roses, as there is a lot to learn. Learning to propagate and grow strong healthy roses is not as easy as it sounds. I have cried many tears in this process though the multitude of frustrations I have experienced, but one thing has remained steadfast, ……I never give up.

We are still learning and still growing, tweaking what didn’t work, or need to change for the next season. There have been a lot of those, but everything we accomplish, or fail at, is a learning experience. I have had to humbly admit this, and some days, it is a hard pill to swallow.

Our West Michigan growing season is so short compared to most other rose nurseries, which makes using the time we do have, essential, to have a crop for the following year. We don’t have the luxury of propagating 9 months of the year. After spring flush in early June, we begin, and must stop in early September (Labor Day) otherwise, roots may not have time to develop well enough to go through winter. So, essentially, our entire crop is done in a 3-month window. This dictates that we will never be a large nursery. We don’t have the time to propagate that many plants, and it’s just the two of us, and probably always will be.

So, this blog is dedicated to my wonderful husband and business partner, Bob. He will be the voice you get, most likely, if you call, and will answer your emails. He stepped into the role and responsibility of rosarian and is exceeding all my expectations. Thanks babe!