Oh, I should point out too, there is a bit of a learning by osmosis and supporting those bright spots. E.g. Ethan LOVES orange flowers. When he saw Explosion in the Paint Factory bloom for the first time, he nearly ran across the yard and said "THAT'S MY FLOWER". So of course, we have three clumps planted right now. Rue and Lou? I'm shocked no one is buying those seeds; that bloom is such a vibrant salmon orange, and it is probably Ethan's true favorite. So I planted a second one where we can see it bloom from the house.
When I share the auction results with Ethan, and he saw one cross that had been bid up, he was like "I made that cross, that was MY idea."
Overall, Ethan hybridized roughly 30% of the days we hybridized in 2022. I asked that I review his ideas before he did then, and exerted some oversight (e.g. informing which were dips and tets that wouldn't work with each other) but I gave him autonomy to dream.
I think the real kicker will be when he sees blooms from some of his own crosses in a couple years. Seeing his idea come to reality is a great pay off. Teaches tremendous patience.
Hopefully, with time, my daughter will want to be more actively involved as well.
