Be still my heart

What a day it was! Seedling 34709 from last year (above) was
really showing its stuff as I entered the greenhouse, and it ended
up being put on the pinks and roses and reds. And then I saw the
heart-stopper below. I promptly gave it a number (2310) and
began spreading its pollen to the music of the Messiah.

Two exceptionally nice pinks also bloomed for the first time, now
numbered 1610 and 1110. The paler one is out of Arctic Lace and
a hot rose seedling. The season has sure started out in an exciting way:-)

New directions

For years it was purples that made my heart sing. My current passions are roses and hot pinks, most of which are coming out of Man of Sorrows (Tim Kornder x Joan Derifield, where Tim Kornder = Seminole Wind x Senegal). I saw seedling 7009 (above) for the first time in the greenhouse last spring - just a few buds and not very ruffled, but I liked the color so decided to use it for hybridizing this year. It ended up with incredible branching and lovely ruffles. It will be sent outside in June for several years of testing, and will hopefully make the grade given the hardiness of its parents (which are 14307 x 8307) - see below.

Joy

My last post was called "Anticipation". After waiting nearly a week for the bloom to open, I walked into the greenhouse this morning to see this 7 inch beauty smiling at me. Super-ruffled and no hang-ups. I whooped and hollered:-)

Its parents are pictured below. Complicated breeding that includes Secret of Contentment,

Heartbeat of Heaven, Rock of Salvation, Storm Shelter, Lake Effect, , Tet LBB, Remembering Joan, JT Davis, Shores of Time, etc - you get the idea:-)

In making the cross, I'd hoped for something a little "hotter" in color, so will take it back onto my dark roses and hot pinks to add size and color.

I also saw this beauty from 2009 - seedling #1809 - a great-grandkid of Fountain of Life. Love the echo eye.

Anticipation

A lot of the fun of hybridizing is the anticipation of what's coming next. The goal is to get flowers that take your breath away, but early in the season, I'll settle for a bud that does that. The flower below has been in the process of opening for over a week, so I have no idea when it will make its debut. The first picture is from 2 days ago, and the second one is from today. It's from hot pink and hot rose breeding, but it sure looks like it will be a soft pink or yellow. Will let you know how it turns out unless it's too ugly to be photographed:-) Looks like it will have a "green sepal" problem - which happens early in the season when the temperatures are cool. The ends of the sepals are green and hard, so the flower doesn't look its best. I don't usually see later in the season or on outside blooms.

In the meantime, a number of selected seedlings from spring 2009 have started to bloom. The one below is 16809 - a grandkid of Man of Sorrows. Perfect color and form every day and a killer scape.

Moving Day:-)

It's the middle of March, and time for the move back to Springwood where I'll stay for the next 6 months. After hauling and unloading 2 carloads full of paperwork and clothes and groceries, I headed straight for the greenhouse and made my first crosses of the season. Seedling scapes everywhere and I should see the first one tomorrow:-) A couple of my intros looked good enough to eat.

Greatest Gift of All

Keep the Faith

Also blooming was 1709 - out of Storm Shelter, Jane Trimmer, and a grandkid of Fountain of Life. I love the multiple rings in the eye.

Spring Fling - May 2 - mark your calender

Want to see and smell a greenhouse full of daylilies two months before outside bloom? Learn more about hybridizing? Share ideas? Whether you've been hybridizing for many years or are just a beginner, this event is made just for you! (see picture above of last year's attendees) Sponsored by the Daylily Society of Minnesota (aka HSM), this year's Spring Fling is being held on Sunday, May 2 from 1-4PM at Springwood Gardens in Jordan, MN. Past exercises have included making dream crosses, selecting the most distinctive flower, finding the parents of a seedling, figuring out which 2 parents might help you take the next step toward reaching your hybridizing goals, etc. In the past, we've had attendees from Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa and Nebraska. Please e-mail me at springwoodgarden@aol.com for directions or if there are specific topics you'd like to cover.

First scapes on the new seedlings

Greenhouse on March 7, 2010

Some of the dormants have only recently broken ground, despite warm temps in the GH since early December.

Note dormants in the middle, sevs to the left and right, and monster foliage in the back. It's fascinating to watch each cultivar behave in its own unique genetically programmed way.

The season has begun:-)

After months of waiting, it looks like the season has finally arrived:-) As I opened the door to the greenhouse this morning, I saw the first bloom of the season - 0309 - one I saw last year and held over for possible hybridizing this year - it's out of Intelligent Design breeding. There are scapes everywhere on both the mama plants as well as many of the seedlings, so I should start to see plenty of bloom in about 2 weeks.

Welcome to Springwood Gardens

Never in a million years did I think I'd be doing a blog:-) but during hybridizing season so many folks e-mail and ask "What new look did you see today?" Because I'm always going flat out from about March 15-September 15 with hybridizing and shipping and evaluating, I'd send out a picture here and there and say "Everything will be on the website in October." Pretty unsatisfying answer for me and for them. So it looks like doing a blog might do the trick:-)

I can hardly wait for the new season to start:-) This year I turned the heat up in the greenhouse in December instead of January in order to speed up the season, and now there are scapes everywhere on the mama plants - am still waiting to see them on the new seedlings (about 4500 seeds planted in the ground in August and now most are blooming size). My guess is that I'll be able to begin posting pictures at the end of March. In the meantime, feel free to stroll around springwoodgardens.com to see pictures of my 2010 introductions (and those of previous years), seedlings from 2009 that I'll be using as "mama" plants for hybridizing, and possible futures - as well as the landscape and gardens at Springwood. It will be fun to have you with me as we watch the results unfold.