'Grand Stone' may be a slightly off-the-wall name for a plant, but Peter van Steijn's natural penchant for selecting new varieties means we will be offered a lot more 'Stones' to plant in our garden in years to come.

For 'Steijn' is a name derived from a Germanic translation of  'Stone', and in order to easily identify his own introductions, Peter is giving them names ending in 'Stone'.

Peter shows us the colour these Echinops flowers will be when they open.

Peter's breeding work is a relevantly new development in his plant growing career.

A native of the Dutch bulb-district town of Voorhout, where he has always lived and worked, Peter went to work at a local nursery when he was 15, and never looked back.

In 1990 he decided to take what he had learned to start his own growing business. 

His first crop that cut flower favourite, Gypsophylla, but after a few years he developed an interest in Echinops and Eryngiums, soon followed with Scabiosa.

After a few years of the daily routine of growing crops for cut flower production and  garden plants, his knowledge had increased to such an extent that he became curious to try his hand at creating varieties of his own.

Peter explains the finer points of Echinacea breeding to Darwin PlantSpotters researcher Chris Matthijs.

The years of observational learning began to pay off with the discovery of some distinctive new varieties suitable for the cut flower trade. Peter's new found success afforded him the opportunity to earn money from royalty payments, which meant he could have the crops grown elsewhere and free up more of his own time to work on developing more new varieties.

The lifestyle benefits of not being on call 7 days a week to cut flowers also didn't go unappreciated! Scabiosas in particular have a very short window when they need to be harvested for optimal quality.

Though he claims no particular reason for it, Peter has somehow become the master of the spiky plants, with Echinops and Eryngium his specialities. These prickly perennials are a direct contrast with his character, which is an approachable, affable man with an impressive knowledge and enthusiasm for his work.

Maybe Peter's 2 dogs sum up the situation?  

On the right of the picture is an English Springer Spaniel called Donald, who greets visitors with a wagging tail and as much a grin as a dog can muster. The other is a Wire-Haired Dachshund, who despite being small is equipped  with large teeth, and acknowledges strangers with a quiet growl!

To go to Peter van Steijn's Homepage click here.