Somewhere in the countryside surrounding Cambridge, Great Britain lives a husband and wife who spend their days (and most nights) breeding new plants. Fifteen years ago they introduced a new double petunia named 'Priscilla' after Priscilla Kerley, half of the hybridizing team. Husband David is the mastermind behind the operation, having worked from 1969 to 1999 for two different seed companies before striking out on his own. Even as he spent his last years as the managing director of Unwins Seeds mail order division, he was making crosses and experimenting. Their primary claim to fame are petunias with 62 new introductions to the plant world. David also worked with spinach, flowering sweet peas and snapdragons. Recent work is with cape fuchsias (phygelius), trailing pansies sold under the trademarked name of Balconita and the Belarina primrose.

It was the primrose that caught my attention last spring. The trademarked Belarina series are described as rosette types. A leafy collar surrounds each flower, a throw back to the use of Primula vulgaris or the English primrose for breeding. Each flower is fully double which makes them look like small carnations or roses.

As a lover of primrose, I can't help but be enchanted with these new varieties. Tougher than many of the showy primrose, plant them facing east or north with midday shade. Even better, in a trough or container that's elevated so you can see them up close and personal.