Like others, I am in a state of shock over this. I am at an age when I am
losing friends and family, and I am comforted when I feel bad by working
with my bulbs. Now when I enter the greenhouses I am reminded of Rachel
everywhere I look.

I started growing South African bulbs from seed in 1989 and by the early
90's was ordering seed from Silverhill. Without a computer or the
internet, Rachel and I corresponded by mail, and I still have her
delightful letters. I decided to start a bulb nursery, it was supposed to
be a small hobby type business to keep me busy when I retired from
medicine. Rachel gave me so much encouragement, supporting my decision to
leave the medical profession since she had done something similar, leaving
her prior profession in research to start Silverhill with her husband. I
can't say how important her encouragement and support was back then, so for
about thirty years she has been a constant presence in my life, although I
only met her and Rod once. I can say without hesitation, that without
Rachel and Silverhill, Telos Rare Bulbs would probably never have come
about. I feel as though I have taken them for granted in recent years,
expecting them to always be there. I am devastated by this loss. I can't
begin to imagine what the people close to them are feeling.

Diana Chapman
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