Ruth does, in fact, grow more than 800 roses on a small corner lot in east San Diego. She says: “Growing roses in three different gardens over nearly 30 years has taught me, and continues to teach me, of the amazing physical and mental health benefits of this life-sustaining hobby. I want to teach and show people that the beauty, joy, and healing power of roses can be stronger than the pain, anger, and division that exist so fully in our world today.” Details on the garden and her odyssey with roses are set forth in her article in the American Rose Annual 2019.

Ruth has written numerous articles on growing roses for the San Diego Rose Society newsletter. She speaks regularly to the San Diego Rose Society and other societies in the Pacific Southwest District. She was a judge for the annual Rose Trials at the Rose Hills Test Garden in Whittier California for several years. In 2019, former President of the American Rose Society and hybridizer, Robert Martin, named and registered a shrub rose “Ruth Tiffany” from his many crosses of Julia Child/Ann Morrow Lindberg.