Now that the gardening season is winding down, I thought we'd spend a little time on a subject near and dear to my heart. Plant breeding.

Why are there so many new Echinacea and coral bell hybrids and where did they all come from? Not to mention iris, daylilies, and new annuals every year.

Some specialty perennials have been bred for hundreds of years. In 16th century Netherlands, a few tulip bulbs and seeds were brought from Turkey to the University of Leiden. Carolus Clusius, garden curator, began breeding them, sparking "Tulipmania".

In a few short years, a pound of prized cultivars sold for thousands of dollars. Fortunes were made and lost. Almost every aristocratic family had tulips as a symbol of power and prestige.

A futures market was even started for the trading of tulips. In the 1630's the bottom fell out of the market, but the bulbs remained popular and to this day the brightly-colored spring favorites are part of the Dutch identity.

Can you imagine a garden with out impatiens? Believe it or not Claude Hope introduced the first impatiens, the Elfin series, in 1969. Impatiens were an orange weed 3-4 feet tall, native to West Africa, before Claude started working on them at his home in Costa Rica.

Sometimes new hybrids need to wait for their time to come. Three decades ago a Ball Seed salesman, who collected unusual begonias, bred Dragon Wings. The powers that be didn't know what to do with such a large, enthusiastic begonia when the fashion was for small balls of color. Perseverance paid off and today Dragon Wings begonias are one of the best sellers for PanAmerican Seed.

Daylilies and irises are primarily bred by back-yard garden enthusiasts. Search the internet and you will find hundreds of cultivars of either. Flowers with only one stigma (female part) and prominent anthers (male part) are easy targets for amateur plant breeders with limited time and space.

David Culp, a local gardening consultant, breeds hellebores and has helped to popularize this wonderful genus. His Brandywine Hybrids introduced many new colors to the Lenten Rose.

Public gardens such as the Chicago Botanic Garden and Longwood Gardens often have breeding or selection programs and have introduced plants of merit. 'Longwood Blue' Caryopteris and the Meadowbrite series of Echinaceas from Chicago readily come to mind.

Universities also have long been sources of new plants. Dick Craig at Penn State has given us the Martha Washington geraniums usually on the market today. He was also instrumental in popularizing seed geraniums. 'Husker Red' Penstemon, the Perennial Plant of the Year 1996, was bred at the University of Nebraska. Most of the land grant universities have breeding programs of some nature.

Of course, private companies introduce dozens of new perennials and annuals each year.

Next spring and summer go outside and really look at your flowers. If you like what you see, thank a plant breeder.