Thousands of years ago, one of the first ever gardeners, probably in Babylon, discovered that it was possible to partially improve some features of already existing flowers in order to obtain different forms of the corolla, new colours, or even blooms in the winter months.
Nowadays there are hybridizers (and not gardeners) who deal with this delicate process. The process, which is completely natural, is in short a modification of the genetic structure of the plant, so as to obtain the desired characteristics. Since 1500, in the Riviera, floriculture took a prominent place in the economy of the region. In the twentieth century Quinto Mansuino decided to close his business as a photographer to become a flower grower; his deep friendship with Domenico Aicardi and the latter’s teachings, led him to become one of the most well known hybridizers
before and after the war. Later he taught the hybridization art to his nephew Giacomo Nobbio, who in turn passed on his lines of hybridization and his experience to Hybrida. This company, located in Sanremo, produces new varieties of cut and pot carnation flowers, as well as dahlias, aubrietia, sage and other herbs. Even Camporosso, a small coastal town in the province of Imperia, boasts a hybridization centre of excellence.
Bianchieri Creations, founded in 1982, specializes in the preparation and production of new buttercup and anemone hybrids. The flowers of the Riviera, as well as being awarded prizes in the most prestigious international fairs, now reach markets around the world, as they are among the finest products in the field of floriculture.
[Samirah Muran]
