Charlie Glass

After attending private school in New Hampshire, Glass briefly studied at the Sorbonne in Paris and Yale University before enlisting in the US Army in 1953, serving as a radio operator in Germany.

Following his service, he studied drama in New York and participated in master classes with opera diva Lotte Lehmann, where he met Ganna Walska, founder of Lotusland.

In 1973, Glass and Foster became co-directors of Lotusland, where they redesigned the gardens to include significant collections of cacti, succulents, aloes, bromeliads, and cycads.

Proficient in multiple languages, he translated and performed over 300 Filipino folk songs on television and stage in the Philippines and the U.S.

After leaving in 1997 due to permit restrictions, he began a new non-profit plant research initiative at his home in San Miguel, Rancho Alcocer, in collaboration with Mario Mendoza García.