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NederlandsThe Big Spender
As usual, I have to use some of this newsletter to try and sell you a few extra Amaryllis bulbs, or maybe even a couple of nice, spring-blooming flower bulbs, but before I get to that, I would like to tell you a little story.
My son Karel is currently in the United States of America, where he is spending a couple of months working for our customers who sell our Dutch flower bulbs in the States. Like us, these customers have a web shop with the same mission and vision as Fluwel: the quality and the customer come first.
Narcissus Biodina, $200 per 1
One of our customers, Christopher Harley, owns Qdaff. Last weekend, he took Karel to the Fall Board Meeting of the American Daffodil Society. During this two-day conference, daffodil enthusiasts come from all over the USA to talk about their favorite flowers. To add a little bit of extra excitement, there is an auction during which people can bid on rare varieties of Daffodils. After studying the assortment of this year’s auction, I talked to Karel to see if he would like to try to bid on Daffodils Biodina and Wee Nod. Both are miniatures, donated by Ann Wright and hybridized by my dear friend Brian Duncan. Karel wanted to try. The next day I received the following message: “I bought Biodina for $200!” Isn’t that great? An eighteen-year-old European kid in a building full of rich Americans… I’m sure a lot of them would have liked to be the one to secure Biodina!
So, that was the personal update for today, now back to business: I have a couple of flowers to direct your attention to, as there are still some amazing varieties left in our web shop, that people seem to look over when putting together their gardens for next year. I’ll list some of them for you here, so you might be able to take some new inspiration before winter really starts!
I’ll be honest with you: sometimes it seems very obvious to me that a lot of you have no idea where to start when it comes to buying flower bulbs. Whether it is because you have just started gardening, or because the number of options is simply overwhelming, I often see people’s eyes glaze over when they are confronted with the amount of choice they have when it comes to their garden.
Naturally, there are readers who don’t recognize this inability to choose at all: they have been planning since the previous year and know exactly what to order for their garden. They might have had bulbs ready in your garage already, or maybe have already started planting, even? These people need no help from me: it is probably the opposite: I could learn a lot from them. So, if you are one of these people, I congratulate you, and I hope your garden is going to turn out amazing this coming season!
These real enthusiasts are also probably not the ones who just stop reading the newsletter if they have already done their shopping for this season. That kind of thirst for flower-bulb knowledge is probably enough to just read out of interest, and I am very happy that you are here. I myself am one of these people: I can never read enough information about flower bulbs, even if I already did the things a particular article talks about. Sometimes you just want to read more about what you already know just to see if other people are doing the same things.
Leucojum aesticum Gravetye Giant
But, a lot of friends and acquaintances often tell me: “you just pick something you like, and I’ll just plant those, then.” If that is something you could be saying, then this newsletter hopefully has new information for you!
All the photos you have seen above are, except for Miniature Daffodil Biodina, flower bulbs that simply always work. They are the kind of varieties that only seem to know how to do two things: grow fast and flower happily. Whether you plant them on sand, clay, any type of soil: they are not picky at all. The amount of nutrients is not important to these varieties and that makes them extremely suitable for people who are just starting out in their garden: success is guaranteed.
Here are a few more options with the same characteristics:
Camassia Leichtlinii Blue Danube
The list you just read are all flowers that are the most reliable spring-blooming flower bulbs out there. There are obviously more, but these are all still available to order and plant for next season in our web shop. I’ll name a few more, just so you have options:
Tulipa: Salmon Lalibela – Desighn Impression – Akebono – Purissima Blonde – American Dream – Cupido – Daydream – Glow Motion.
Narcissus: Brackenhurst – Breath of Spring – Carlton – Ferris Wheel – Fluwel Narcissen Mix – Hello Sunshine – Jetfire -Pride of Lions – Queen Beatrix – Sizzling Fire – Spinner – Tete a Tete – Texel Sun – TG Lava.
Special Bulbs: Anemona blanda – Chionodoxa – Crocus vernus – Hocus Crocus.
If you have a hard time choosing which flower bulbs to plant in your garden, I recommend choosing from these lists. They are all exceptionally easy and do extremely well. And, if you are online anyway, be sure to have a look at the Amaryllises! The number of options is simply gigantic this year, so I don’t doubt that you will be able to find something to your liking!
Kind regards,
Carlos van der Veek
P.S. I have one more practical announcement: at the moment, a lot of orders are being sent out. Every day, crates of orders are being shipped from our warehouse. They each come with their own track-and-trace code, and from that moment on, we are no longer in control of the package. It happens sometimes that crates of orders are waiting on further processing
at the warehouse of the shipping company. If this happens, it could be that you have to wait a little bit longer for your flower bulbs. I understand that if your package takes longer than you anticipated, your first instinct is to call us, but unfortunately, we cannot offer you anything more than a friendly conversation and shared sadness about the fact that shipping company employees are overworked and probably underpaid. Nine times out of ten, your package is completely fine, and arrives a couple of days later. But patience is a virtue and I hope it makes you enjoy your flowers even more when you do finally get them!
