Aubrieta 'Kitte'
27th May 2012
Ideas are fickle things. They have a way of feeling bright and fresh when you have them as though a shaft of sunlight
had momentarily illuminated perception through a thunderstorm. Wonderful times.
There are also Aubrieta. I haven't grown any for so long they had slipped from my opinion. I can't deny the delight
of a gutsy purple spilling down the wall of a front garden, hemmed in by tarmac and tedium. In that context
I had a sudden moment when it seemed that the genus still had potential to be realised. Years ago I met an Aubrieta breeder
who was filled with enthusiasm for the genus and something of the shining wonder of his smile remains with me.
So in one of those moments filled with promises I thought it might be possible to breed a select little tuft of
foliage that would support ridiculously large white flowers. The first step is to trial a few of the better modern cultivars
and get a feel for them.
As it turns out the second step was to get rather bored by the whole idea and be quietly pleased when the lilac residue of it
expired.
'Kitte' is a large flowered compact seed strain that follows along similar lines but doesn't really speak of potential being realised.