IT takes years of crossing and recrossing hundreds of plants before they are ready for commercial production and sale.

To illustrate, here are two examples – one is a daphne and the other a rose.

Firstly, Daphne “Perfume Princess”, which is claimed to have more flowers than any other daphne, of which there are more than 200 varieties. While the most popular variety is Daphne odora, from China (together with Daphne odora variegata), most varieties come from the hottest part of the world, namely around the Mediterranean.

So, how did this new daphne come about? New Zealander Mark Jury is the breeder. Ten years ago he tried crossing Daphne odora with Daphne bholua, the latter being blessed with the best of daphne scents. Mark then worked for years gathering seeds from both with little joy until, finally, out of a total of six seeds harvested, just one seed grew, but was so underwhelming he more or less forgot about it.

After lying around the nursery for more than six years, Mark took another look at the daphne seedling and was astounded with the resultant flowers, which were exactly what every grower of a new plant was looking for: a compact bush, lush green foliage, huge flowers, flowers at the branch tips and down the stems, and a perfume to die for.

Mark then spent a few more years testing his D. “Perfume Princess” to make sure it wasn’t a fluke. It performed beyond expectations with the claim that it had a perfume like no other.

It is for sale at the Heritage Garden Centre, Yarralumla, and other garden centres.

Secondly, “The Beauty of Being Single” is the title of an article in the Royal Horticultural Society’s journal “The Garden”, which says that the simple elegance of single roses wins them a place in many gardens.

After waning over recent years, the act of giving a single rose has returned to popularity.

A repeat-flowering floribunda rose that has blooms all summer (provided it is dead-headed regularly).

This is a distinct new rose bred by Charles Warner in the UK after more than 30 years of breeding and is ideal for our conditions. It is lightly scented with shades of pink, peach and apricot. Being extremely drought resistant, this is an important factor in growing roses in our climate.

Another single rose that has always remained popular is Rosa “Dainty Bess”, which has flowers of exquisite beauty with shell pink on the upper side of the petals and salmon pink underneath.

BOOK now for the next gardening talk at The Garden, Parkwood Nursery, on growing Cymbidium Orchid by well-known local expert Paul Tyerman. It’s on July 1 and bookings to 6254 6726.

Jottings…

• Plant Australian garlic now. It’s the one with a stalk one end and curly roots the other; not the imported garlic treated with methyl bromide. Leave the stalk slightly out of the ground.
• Break the ice on the bird bath before leaving for work
• A heaped tablespoon of Epsom salts dissolved in a watering can and applied to rhodos, azaleas and daphne is a great tonic.
• Cut old flowers off Callistemon (bottle brush) for more spring flowers.
• Feed pansies and polyanthus “weakly weekly” – a weak solution once a week with Maxicrop Seaweed Plant Nutrient.