Jan Pennings with daffodils from his 120-acre farm in Breezand, Holland.

When Dutch Gardens wants to discover what's new and interesting in the world of daffodils, we head to Holland's North Country and seek out Jan Pennings.

Jan comes from one of Holland's leading families of bulb growers. His grandfather started the business almost 100 years ago. Today the Pennings family cultivates more than 650 acres of flower bulbs.

On Jan's own 120-acre farm in Breezand, he grows between 15 and 17 million bulbs annually. He is proud to run "a real family business" with his wife and his son, Joost. Jan travels the world in search of new daffodils and plants about 100 promising new varieties each year. The following year he will usually discard at least half of them because, as he puts it, "they just aren't good enough." After three years of trials, Jan will typically have retained no more than three of the original hundred varieties. At this point he will begin to build up his planting stock of these chosen varieties. It will take him approximately 15 years before he has built up enough stock to start introducing them to market.

In addition to growing daffodils, Jan also breeds hyacinths, with a special focus on doubles and bi-colors. He recently found a new seedling that's blue with white edges.

Jan is also a leader in the environmental production of flower bulbs. He recently won several gold medals for his products, as well as a Sustainability Award for the quality of his bulbs and the way in which he produces them. Only two growers have won this special award.

When asked to name one of his favorite daffodils, Jan picks Chromacolor, which is an eye-catching and particularly long-lasting daffodil. He also name Replete, which is a variety that he originally found growing in Oregon in 1984. That year he took home five bulbs and now sells more than 350,000 Replete daffodil bulbs each year. It takes the sharp eyes and patience of an expert grower like Jan Pennings to see the future in a single blossom.