Thierry Delabroye has a number of projects on the go, which is an exciting prospect for perennial fans.  

Having already given us the quartet of fabulous villosa crossed Heucheras ('Brownies', 'Caramel', 'Citronelle' and 'Mocha') he is continuing work to extend the range by creating a 'Caramel' with darker veins. Watch this site for news if he succeeds!

Just look at how many flowers this double Hellebore produces!

Another of Thierry's pet projects is Helleborus. He raises 500 seedlings every year. These are for sale at his nursery, but it may take longer for these to reach a wider market, as it can be difficult to propagate exact copies of hybrid Hellebores. But in the meantime we can drool at the prospects!

The white bags protect Hellebore flowers from uncontrolled cross-pollination

Breeding can be a disheartening process, as sometimes you can raise hundreds of seedlings to find nothing of any interest has emerged. But Thierry's dedication and enthusiasm knows no bounds. "It is very important that we are curious", is a motto that he demonstrates with gusto. He'll just keep raising those seedlings year after year until he discovers something which delights him.

One thing he would really like to achieve is to breed plants with better perfume, as so many modern hybrids are lacking this. It's a very difficult thing to do, but he's going to try!

Thierry with Corydalis quantmeyerana 'Chocolate Stars'

But what can we expect to see in the near future?

Corydalis quantmeyerana 'Chocolate Stars' will be available from 2007. Derived from seeds Thierry received from China in 1999, it's a long-living variety with only a very short period of dormancy. Its foliage emerges chocolate-brown very early in the year, before lightening to green in summer. Well suited to dry, shady conditions, it's perfect for growing under trees.

The intense colour and impressive size of Geranium 'Sandrine' is clearly demonstrated next to a 2 Euro coin.

Geranium 'Sandrine', named for Thierry's wife and business partner, has massive (2") deep purple-pink flowers with large black eyes and attractive yellow-green spring foliage.

Astrantia 'Princesse Sturdza' has giant white/green flowers formed with very long, narrow bracts. It is named for one of Thierry's numerous plant-breeding friends. Norwegian by birth and married to Prince Sturdza of Romania, this lady has a fantastic garden of her own in Vasterival in the Normandie region of France.

Thierry shows traders from The Netherlands and USA around his vast collection of seedlings

Thierry continues to breed new plants and you can keep up with his progress by reading about his new introductions on this site.