Despite growing up in Holland’s famous bulb region, and his family’s history as tulip growers, Piet Zonneveld didn’t exactly plan to end up in the business himself. He trained as a carpenter, but was lured into the perennial growing world by a friend he used to go fishing with. After working for this friend for several years, Piet eventually decided to go it alone by starting his own nursery.

Piet surveys his Agapanthus crops

By this time he had cultivated a great affection for Agapanthus, who’s common name in Dutch, “Liefdebloem” translates as “Love Flower”, and is derived from one of the possible interpretations of the Greek meaning of “Agapanthus”.  All slightly confusing, seeing as Agapanthus is native to South Africa, but none the less Piet was taken with both the flowers and the name, and so made the genus the cornerstone of his new business.

Today, Piet grows about 40 different varieties of Agapanthus to supply both cut flowers and  plants for the gardening trade. Alongside this he operates an extensive breeding  program to select new varieties, of which A. ‘Back in Black’ is the first to be introduced. He plans for many more to follow in subsequent years, so Piet Zonneveld could well be the man that Agapanthus fans the world over should keep an eye on!