Anna astutely noted that the Daffodil Mart catalogue reminded her of
White Flower Farm. They are affiliated. Shepherd's is part of the same
group.
I've ordered many things from Daffodil Mart and have been
well-satisfied. First-quality, they work with you on shipping dates,
and the bulbs are usually the largest sizes available. Lots of unusual
bulbs: daffs, tulips, and my favorites, the so-called "minor bulbs."
They are sort of semi-wholesale; pretty good prices if you order
reasonably large quantities. I think $50 is the minimum order. Our
Conservation District found better prices elsewhere for most items, but
they were not necessarily the same bulb sizes. Also, we order massive
quantities for resale as a fall fund-raiser.
Interesting that Daffodil Mart just changed the format of their
catalogues this year. Personally I liked the old one better -- les
chatty, easier to find things. But I'm a curmudgeon anyway.
Max
from Cape Cod
Thanks to you and the others who responded with endorsements. I probably
would have ordered anyway, since their catalogue is so enticing, but it's
good to know that people have been pleased with them! I, too, was
intrigued by the "minor" bulbs ...
Anna
Anna Kirkwood Graham
akirkwoo@juno.com
Zone 5
On Mon, 18 May 1998 16:26:02 -0400 "Kumin, Max"
writes:
__
Do they have a 800 # or web page? I'm new to the list and missed the post.
Jessie
Jessie
Yep -- it's 1-800-255-2852.
Cheers!
Anna Kirkwood Graham
akirkwoo@juno.com
Zone 5
On Tue, 19 May 1998 15:28:04 -0400 jessie madera
writes:
__
I've recently got a mailing from the Heaths, whol sold out to White Flower
Farm some years back. Apparently, they'd had an agreement with WFF that
they'd be bulb consultants for as long as they wanted to when they sold
out. In any case, it would seem that WFF just said they weren't needed
anymore, leaving them in a bit of a fiscal bind.
I guess one can make what one wants to of all of this, but it does make me
a bit hesitant about shopping WFF for bulbs...and maybe at all.
Libby
libby@igc.apc.org Libby J. Goldstein phone & fax: 215-465-8878
Philadelphia USDA zone 7A Sunset zone 32
My garden must be n-dimensional if it's out here in cyberspace.
It sounds to me like the Heaths had only a verbal agreement with WFF--the
kind that aren't worth the paper they're written on.
> I guess one can make what one wants to of all of this, but it does make me
> a bit hesitant about shopping WFF for bulbs...and maybe at all.
If the Heaths *did* have a written agreement about their
consultancy-in-perpetuity (which would, BTW, be a very unusual arrangement
indeed), they should pursue redress in the courts. A much more common
scenario would be a time-limited agreement, designed to soften the blow to
the ex-owners, wherein they would be consultants to the buyer for a certain
period but then fade to black. A subordinate purpose of such agreements is
to prevent the sellers from going into direct competition with the buyers
right after selling the original business.
There may be plenty of good reasons for not buying stuff from White Flower
Farms (*my* reason is their prices), and their bulbs are always available
elsewhere for less money, but jerking around the Heaths is probably not one
of them. If the couple were not savvy enough businesspeople to get their
consulting arrangements down in writing, how much sympathy do they deserve?
OTOH, the shabby treatment certainly empowers the Heaths to go right back in
the bulb biz on their own. Or shop their expertise to other direct suppliers.
--Janet
