On the Cover: Blooming flowers have fascinated people for thousands of years. Research led to the discovery of major molecular mechanisms regulating flowering time, flower organ, and germline development, as well as fertilization, culminating in the generation of seeds containing a new generation. Depending on developmental and environmental cues, male and female gametophytes are produced in the anther and ovules after meiotic and additional mitotic divisions. Pollination from selfing or mediated by wind or insects then starts a long series of male-female dialogues leading to targeted pollen tube growth to the ovules, delivering immotile sperm cells to the fermale gametophyte for a double fertilization event that gives rise to the embryo and endosperm. This focus issue highlights the tremendous progress that has been made during the past 10 years to understand flowering and reproduction. The image shows an Amaryllis flower of the cultivar Minerva. Photo taken by Thomas Dresselhaus.