Upon entering Thierry's nursery, one is greeted with an impressive display of mature specimens of many of todays most wanted hybrids.  

But while this showcase entices customers to buy the modern varieties Thierry sells in abundance, the nursery also harbours many plants which he collects not so much for their own sales potential but with a view to breeding from them.

Rarely offered yellow-leaved Centranthus

For example, an old yellow-leaved Centranthus that really catches the eye, but its habit is too straggly for the tastes of many of today’s gardeners and therefore isn’t often to be found for sale.

However Thierry hasn’t given up on it, and as well as offering it for sale he’s using it to try to create a variety that combines the colouring with a more modern habit. 

The species Epimedium collection, on standby for breeding!

Thierry is a great lover of Epimediums and Thalictrums, and proudly owns collections of 50 botanical species of each.  

Botanical species plants are usually much less showy than the hybrids derived from them, but being of the purest natural bloodline they have the best qualities in terms of strength. These after all are nature’s own selections, and Thierry puts them to best use by crossing them with showier hybrids as he works to create plants that will perform well and live long in the garden.  

Thierry and an American trade customer examine hundreds of Epimedium seedlings, as they search for the next big thing.

It gives him particular pleasure that these species are gathered from all over the world, giving him the opportunity to cross species which otherwise would never ‘meet’.

Thierry's nursery is a retail outlet where anybody can go to buy his plants. But with so many wonderful varieties under his wing, he has naturally attracted the attention of public authorities who come to him for their public planting needs, and also botanical gardens including 'Jardins sans Frontière' in the east of France.

Pépinières Delabroye
Rue Roger Salengro, 40
Hantay 59496 France.
Tel/fax : + 33 3 20 49 73 98

www.mytho-fleurs.com/pepinieres_Delabroye.htm