About Us
Come visit us and take a tour around our beautiful garden
Before you make your bouquet selection, please enjoy our beautiful gardens, where we select all our special flowers.
You will not find a more GREEN experience than in our garden. We use all bio-degradable planters, and tap into the rivers surrounding our shop for our water. We change our water settings depending on the time of year to minimize our impact.
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In 1974 I acquired my first dog, which happened to be a field bred English Setter. Willie was three months old and was the only puppy at the Animal Shelter. I was working as a social worker at a temporary shelter for runaway and delinquent youth in those days and Willie got to go to work with me every day. It was ideal. He was a therapy dog long before I had ever heard the term.
I lost Willie at age three. Beside myself with grief, I was directed to Dave Harder of Redrah English Setters. I called Dave the day Willie died and while he did not have any available puppies, he invited me to their home to meet the dogs. It was then that I fell in love with Feather, Rachel and Freckles and it was all over for me.
Marianne Harder mentioned that a family had a 3 ½ year old spayed ES who needed a home and it had to be with someone who really wanted an English Setter. That same night I called and went to meet the dog and her family. My mom and I spent over an hour visiting. I was finally told that the dog, Hilary, would be mine as the dog brought me her favorite toy….something she had not done with others who were interested in her. Hilary, AKC named: Dickens Hilary Smythe, lived to the age of 14 and was my best friend.
I started spending time with Harder’s and that led me to a lifelong friendship. Dave was my mentor and got me involved in dog clubs, exhibiting and breeding. He taught me everything he knew and asked only that I “pass it on.”
Through encouragement from Dave, we became lifetime members of the Winnegamie Dog Club, charter members of the Kettle Moraine English Setter Club, and members of the English Setter Association of America. Since moving to Florida in 2004, we are also members of the Central Florida English Setter Club.
My first show dog was CH Redrah’s Get Ready of Margand. Ready was the last Margand dog to earn a championship. He was awesome and with me as a novice handler not only finished his championship, but got a Group 2 from the classes and a Group 1 and a “pull” out of three times shown as a special. I was also fortunate enough to be mentored by Margaret Hawn as she closely followed Ready’s career.
Long about that time, I found my other best friend, Ron, and have been fortunate enough to be married to him since 1986. Ron loved dogs and shared my dream of breeding the perfect English Setter. He dove in to the dog showing world and became a proficient handler, breeder, match judge, and overall student of the breed.
Ron and I set about looking for a foundation bitch. That led us to Lin Morin and Nancy Dobson, who graciously shared the single bitch puppy out of DC Heathrow’s Rainbow Robber and CH Jaccard Hill Lady In Waiting.
CH Jaccard Hill Oh Rock Rainbow, affectionately called Patty, became our foundation.
Our kennel name, Rock Rainbow, came from a television pilot that as far as I know only 3 other people saw. The show was about three women who all had a dream of making it big as singers. They formed a group called The Rock Rainbow. Rock Rainbow to us is all about working hard and making dreams come true.
The dream nearly died in 1998. We had just learned that our next “mother-to-be”, CH Rock Rainbow Lily of the Valley, was mildly dysplastic in one hip. She could not be bred. Out of the blue, Deb and Tom Kling offered us Chelsea, a “pet”, that became a champion, to carry on the dream. Chelsea passed all her health clearances and we were on a roll with our Klings as partners in breeding. We had two litters out of CH Rock Rainbow Merry Chelsea and forged an even more enduring and valuable friendship.
When we got married our wedding featured Beatles songs. One that meant so much to us is still
I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends. Our journey into the world of dogs has mostly been about the wonderful people who we are privileged to call our friends.
We felt it was important to share our appreciation to: those we mentored: Jan & Al Champeau – Starburst, Pam & Kayla Kozak – Kei-Rin, & Jennifer Kettleson – Olde Glory, those who we continue to share ES memories: Carol Ulrich & Bob Gleason – Carob, who welcomed us into the family with our favorite stud CH Rogresta Lord Devereux, gave us many memories with Jeep, CH RockRainbow There’s Only One, and Sydney…CH RockRainbow Lmplr Girls Vs Boys, Dave & Judy Mates – Lamplighter, who shared Mary, Ron’s favorite ES, CH Rock Rainbow Merry One…… Mary & Dave Lawson, who found us for another puppy….Dave & Kathy Harder, top of the line friends…Lin Morin, who sent us Patty and helped us in the early days….Cay Moriarity, who dared to be different and is considered family….Frank Schreiter, who with CH Redrah’s Exordium Lady Leah, dove into the world of ES, Deb & Tom Kling – for enduring friendships……and all of our new friends with the Central Florida English Setter Club, who made moving to a new state a great experience.
No note of appreciation would be complete without a heartfelt thank you to Mary A. Strange Sr. & Mary A. Strange Jr. who have gave us countless laughs, trusted us and were/are always been there when we needed a friend.
The dogs are great, but the friends “seal the deal.”
We thank you all!
Willie
Hilary
Ready
Patty
About Us ~
