Interview by Linda Cace, Bexar County Master Gardener
January 2024
I got an early Christmas gift this week. I interviewed Candy Roach, Bexar County Master Gardener (“BCMG”) who was named BCMG for the winter season. Candy, a native of San Antonio, spent much of her adult life in Houston working as a corporate officer for a large insurance company. She dealt with corporate mergers, oversaw software design and development of teams, both onshore and off, and worked with data security and disaster recovery. Deep inside that corporate success, however, lurked the heart and soul of a gardener. Candy and her husband returned to San Antonio when Candy retired, and since then the BCMG organization has benefited from Candy’s expertise, energy, and organizational know how.
At home Candy has a pollinator garden and raises her own vegetables in the company of her two Shih Tzu’s, Mocha and Latte. Since the dogs are with her in the garden and to encourage an abundance of pollinators, Candy maintains a pesticide free garden. Her favorite form of insect control is simply washing unwanted bugs off her plants with a strong stream of water. Her pollinator garden has been so successful that Candy has developed a pollinator training video for her garden club. In addition, her garden is registered with the City of San Antonio as a safe pesticide free environment for monarch butterflies, birds, and bees.
Candy spends many hours volunteering for BCMG and is often requested to speak in public forums through our Speaker’s Bureau. She also runs a 140-member garden club, Blooms and Brunch, an off-shoot of the Newcomers to San Antonio organization. Candy uses her Master Gardener training to provide her members with accurate, researched-based gardening information from Texas A&M AgriLife Extension and through her BCMG training.
When Candy isn’t gardening, she loves traveling, decorating, and doting on her two pups. She also enjoys sewing and embroidering, as well as making flower arrangements and fruit carving, especially if she can work with items she has grown herself.
I asked Candy what she liked most about being a Master Gardener, and she replied, “I love being able to inspire others to connect with nature. It brings me joy when I see pictures of plants they grew themselves from seed and feel relief when a sick plant has recovered. Being a Master Gardener has allowed me to enrich the lives of others through the knowledge and experiences I’ve received from working with other members of the Bexar County Master Gardeners, Texas AgriLife, and San Antonio Water System (“SAWS”). I LOVE BEING A Master Gardener!”
When I called Candy an early Christmas gift, I really meant that. Her energy, intelligence, and willingness to share her knowledge with the BCMG’s and other gardeners makes her a real gift to all of us. It was a great day for our organization when Candy decided to come back to San Antonio. Let’s hope she stays with us for a long, long time. We have a lot to learn from her.
Photos provided by Candy Roach