10/99-32 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE For more information contact: Christine Kelleher, 800-232-9557, Ext. 512 or Gary Doerr, 916-716-1889

If necessity is the mother of invention, then Stella Taylor's role as new plant technician for Blooms of Bressingham is that of midwife.

When Taylor goes to work each morning at the Blooms plant discovery center in Norfolk, England, she never knows what might greet her. But she hopes it will be a "Eureka!" discovery of a new variety of plants that will become a best seller.

"You never know what you have on your hands until, suddenly, you come in one morning and find you have a wonderful flower… or maybe a failure. If it is wonderful, you are full of excitement. If it is a failure, you know that there are many exciting new discoveries yet to come," Taylor said.

"Breeding is a side of the business where you never know what is going to happen next. We are always experimenting to cross varieties, both here in North America as well as in England," said Gary Doerr, president of Blooms of Bressingham North America.

"But it is a long road to success. We have to grow each new variety to maturity, take cuttings or seeds to create more for evaluation and trial each variety in differing conditions both in England and the United States before we can decide if it has the makings of a winner. If the decision is "Go," we then have to 'bulk up' - or produce enough plants in commercial quantities - for introduction to the gardening world."

Blooms has developed a worldwide reputation for the quality of new plants it has introduced. Some, such as the popular Fragaria 'Pink Panda,' an ornamental flowering strawberry plant, have been breed elsewhere and developed at Bressingham.

Others, such as Polemonium 'Brise d'Anjou,' which was discovered by chance as a shoot growing on a plant in Anjou, France, are brought to Blooms by expert growers wanting to capitalize on Blooms' breeding and marketing expertise.

Many originated right here in North America. Among the most popular of these are Heliopsis 'Loraine Sunshine,' Phlox 'Shortwood' and all of Blooms of Bressingham North America's Lovely Lady™ Daylilies.

To date the largest number varieties, were bred or discovered by Adrian and Alan Bloom, the award-winning nurserymen and authors who founded the company which bears their name, or by Taylor and others like her at the Blooms plant discovery center.