A lifelong gardener and avid student of horticulture and the soil sciences will be in Bermuda this weekend to share his vast knowledge with the Bermuda Rose Society and other interested persons.

Field Roebuck, a free-lance garden writer, photographer and lecturer, will speak on the topic "Roses the Same and Eay Way" during the Bermuda Rose Society's annual general meeting on Friday. He will discuss soil preparation and maintenance and the non-chemical control of pests and diseases.

The event starts with the annual rose show at the Horticultural Hall between 1 and 2 p.m. (free admission), to be followed by a members tea at 2 p.m. and then the AGM at 3 p.m.

Mr. Roebuck will speak again on Monday, May 6 at 8 p.m. when interested persons are invited to a public lecture and slide show on old pioneer roses, plus some newer varieties that grow well in the southern United States. Admission is again free.

Mr. Roebuck is a consulting engineer and geologist by profession, but describes his avocation as a free-lance garden writer, photographer and lecturer. He is the author of Creative Homeowner's book "Foolproof Guide to Growing Roses" and contributes gardening articles regularly to the Dallas Morning News, the Gardener and Neil Sperry's Gardens magazines as well as several gardening club bulletins.

A resident of North Texas, Mr. Roebuck also has written about Texas and Southwestern history for True West and Old West magazines.

His professional work has taken him throughout the United States and to 34 foreign countries on six continents.

"This has been a boon for my avocation because it has enabled me to observe firsthand the plants, the soils, the gardens and the gardening practices in many parts of the world," he stated.

At home, Mr. Roebuck and his wife, Joan, specialise in growing Old Garden Roses, kitchen herbs and flowering perennials. They are members of the Dallas Area Historical Rose Society, the Heritage Rose Foundation, the Texas Botanical Garden Society, the Royal Horticultural Society and the Seeds of Texas Seed Exchange.

Mr. Toebuck is also a member of the Society of Independent Professional Earth Scientists, the Garden Writers Association of America and the Western Writers of America, as well as a past president of the First Men's Garden Club of Dallas and a plant show judge for the Gardeners of America.