Linda Johnson was born and raised in Minneapolis, MN. She was in the first class of females to graduate from Breck School and proceeded to graduate from Princeton University as a young adult.   

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Linda's first exposure to roses was when she and her family went to the Lyndale Park Rose Garden. She recalls the gardens being beautiful and brimming with multi-colored roses with a variety of fragrances that all seemed magical to her!  It was in those gardens that she came to understand that something other than vegetables could be grown in our climate. "I saw pink roses; yellow, red, purple, white, orange and mixed varieties as well - every rose had its own fragrance! As an I adult I began growing my own roses solely because of my experience at the Lyndale Park Rose Garden."  

 

After graduating from college, Linda worked on the east and west coasts of the U.S. yet she wanted to come back to Minneapolis because of the many lakes (and  thunderstorms!).  When she moved back to Minneapolis in 2005, Linda visited her beloved Lyndale Park Rose Garden however, it no longer resembled the one she remembered from her youth.

 

Due to the size of the gardens and limited funding, the Lyndale Park Rose Garden does not have a full-time staff to keep up with proper maintenance. Beautiful roses do not grow wild - they require dedicated care. Linda recognized that raising funds for (ideally) five interns would be essential to meet the many needs of the roses and sustain their vitality so the public can continue learning from and enjoying them.

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Timeline: Recognizing the ongoing needs of the rose garden, Linda Johnson founded Voices of the Roses in the Autumn of 2017. With approval from the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board in the Summer 2018, the nonprofit began raising funds to support the care and beautification of the Lyndale Park Rose Garden. In 2025, Voices of the Roses proudly received its 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status from the IRS.