Lee was introduced to orchids and gardening at a young age. The son of an accomplished English cottage gardener and florist, Lee spent much of his childhood in the garden just outside Portland, Oregon. At age 8 his parents returned from their 2nd honeymoon in Hawaii with a Dendrobium kingianum and Lee was bitten by the orchid bug. By the time he was in college he was growing over 100 plants in his studio apartment, but only a few were orchids. After he graduated college, Lee’s mother gifted him the Dendrobium kingianum under the condition that he get it to rebloom, which it had not done in over 10 years. 

His orchid collection grew rapidly after that, accelerating dramatically after joining the Oregon Orchid Society, then acting as vice president and president of the organization. The OOS hosts the largest show and sale in the Northwest, drawing national and international orchid vendors, and an opportunity to learn and acquire new and exciting plants. During his tenure at the OOS Lee also began his training as an AOS judge. Then came a cross country move...

To move his collection across the country a 26ft moving truck was packed to bursting with his now collection of hundreds of  orchids, many from his friend and mentor Leonard Gines who had retired and closed his business shortly beforehand. Lee now is settled just outside of Lexington NC on a few acres, enough for a 30’x100’ greenhouse that should be in fully operational by 2027 and just this last July, Lee became a fully accredited AOS judge and the Carolinas Judging Center.

Lee’s orchid collection consists of many orchid species with primary crosses and select hybrids. It includes Cattleya, Bulbophyllum, Cologyne, Phragmipedium, Vanda, Laelia, Paphiopedilum, Cymbidium, Oncidium, and Dendrobium. There is also a particular Dendrobium kingianum that he is very fond of that blooms like clockwork every spring.