When Chapel Hill Magazine asked me to do a story on Strowd’s Roses, I thought it may have something to do with a local florist.  After all, I was still fairly new in town and didn’t know much about the local movers and shakers.  But after lengthy interviews with local big wigs and the legal team that arranged this organization, I discovered that Strowd’s Roses is a hugely successful entity begun by a green-thumbed philanthropist and his wife that provides funding for worthy local non-profits.  In just a decade, it had provided nearly $4 million to schools, research, shelters, food banks and more.  I was impressed…and you will be, too, as you read about how one big-hearted couple beautified their town inside and out.