Welcome
to the Clare Bulb Company website.
The website was last
updated by Andy Bone in July 2009
The Clare Bulb Company specialises in spring bulbs for the gardener with the larger
garden
who may want to buy bulbs in bulk. However, our prices are exceptionally
competitive for smaller quantities as well.
We concentrate on the more common bulbs, the ones which we know
will grow well in most gardens.
We show the heights of each variety, when they flower, and offer useful
tips. Click
here for an example. These are linked to each variety shown in the price-list.
We also offer growing advice, also linked to the pricelist. Click
here for an example.
Bulbs are purchased from leading Dutch and English growers, from people we know,
and whose quality is second to none.
We only sell bulbs, (and nothing else), and have done so for 35 years. Until now we have been best known in
East Anglia, but the internet now allows
us to offer our exceptional quality and low prices to anyone who wants a garden full of spring
colour.
If you scroll down to the bottom of this page
you will find sample pictures of some of the bulbs we sell, mostly growing in our own
award-winning garden. Our price-list shows all the varieties.
Price-lists and Ordering
Forms
1. Spring
Flowering Bulbs Price List , (for planting this autumn )
2. Snowdrops
and Bluebells "In the Green" for 2010 spring delivery
Ordering spring bulbs is simplicity itself. There are three ways of doing so:
1. Print off the price-list on your PC printer, fill it in, and post it to us, with a cheque or with your debit-card details. Please note we prefer debit card as opposed to credit card, this being due to very high cost charged to small companies such as ourselves for processing credit cards.
2. Having looked at our price-list, make a note of what you want and then either phone or email us with your order, and we will do the rest.
3. Write out your order on a separate sheet of paper, attach a cheque or show your debit card details, and post it to us. If you are a regular customer of the Clare Bulb Co, and are therefore on our address data-base, you will receive an order-form in the post during July.
NB: We do not recommend sending full debit card details by email, unless the number and security code are sent on separate emails, at separate times. A better option is for the details to be either sent by post, as for example when the order itself is posted, or by telephone. Payment by cheque avoids all security issues. All debit card information is treated in a manner which conforms with the requirements of the Data Protection Act. Click here for our terms and conditions of trading under the consumer protection act.
"In the Green" Snowdrops and English Bluebells These are available in the early spring. Click here for full information.
Bulb Sizes: Our low prices are not at the expense of the size of the bulbs. Our daffodils and narcissus are all "Top size", as growers call them, which means daffodils are 14/16 cms in diameter, tulips are generally 11/12's, crocuses 7/8's, prepared hyacinths 15/16's, and so on. Bigger bulbs give better flowers. N.B. Often the special offers found in newspapers and elsewhere are for smaller size bulbs than we offer.
Bulb Quality: Unlike many bulb companies our experienced team pack all our orders by hand, not only visually inspecting each and every bulb to ensure it meets our exacting standards, but gently squeezing each bulb (other than those sold by weight), to ensure it is firm to the touch, a sure sign of vigour. You may be assured that nothing is put in the bag unless we are confident it will flower.
Other information: Click here for further ordering details, more about us, where we are, our trading policy and consumer protection policy, a flowering time guide, with heights and depths for planting bulbs, suggested combinations, and other useful facts.
Just who are The Clare Bulb Company? Formed on 24th August 1974, the Clare Bulb Co is a family business run by Jane and Andy Bone from their home in Clare, Suffolk. If you wish to know more about the business, and the team running it, click here.
Visiting Clare: We
operate a retail shop at our premises in Clare between Sept 1st and early
November. We open on weekdays, excepting Wednesdays, and we open on Saturdays,
and most Sunday afternoons. It is best to telephone before a weekend visit, to
be on the safe side. Click here for a map of where you can find Clare, and
click here for our location in Clare,
(we are on the main road, so very easy to find).
Riverside House:
Since our garden holds the prize for
the best garden in Suffolk
in the one acre category it is worth a look as well.
If you would like to see how it looks in high summer, click
here. If you choose to collect your bulbs in the autumn rather than
to use our carrier service this is what you will see!
Norris, our black Labrador: Click here for page one of a book for the children. I created it for our grandchildren and their friends. It tells the story in pictures of Norris's first year as a puppy. He was the first puppy from the first litter we bred, (and is now six years old).
Frequently Asked Questions: Click here to view answers.
The pictures below show examples of our bulbs, mostly flowering in our garden. If you do not have Broadband, they will take ages to load, so it may be easier to go to the price-lists, where all the pictures will also be found.
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Daffodils and Narcissus, in one of our borders. |
Mixed tulips in one of our borders, April 2009 |
A selection of our narcissus |
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Scented Actaea, (also known as Pheasant Eye) |
Crocuses | Allium Gladiator |
Tulip Abu Hassan |
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| Red Georgette (Inferno) |
Mount Hood |
Tete a Tete |
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| Dwarf iris Reticulata | Viridiflora tulip Spring Green | Mixed garden hyacinths |
Allium Schubertii |
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One of our tulip borders in April 2009 |
Dried Allium heads | Tulip Groenland |
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| Naturalised Cyclamen Neopolitanum |
Imperial lily Lutea |
Camassia, also available in white |
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| Daffodils and Narcissus | Dwarf iris (Cantab) |
Anemone Blanda Blue Shades |
Scilla after naturalising |
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Muscari by our river |
The Clare Bulb Co green oak bridge (designed and constructed by Andy Bone in July 2006), connecting us to Essex. |
Allium Globemaster |
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Allium Purple Sensation |
English bluebells |
Tulip Esther |
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Snowdrops, "in the green", awaiting dispatch to customers |
Tulip Queen of the Night |
Fritillaria Meleagris, the so-called Snakeshead Lily |
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| Indoor Paperwhite | Dutch Iris | Anemones |
Dicheloslemma |
Clare Bulb
Company, Riverside House, Clare, Suffolk, CO10 8NS
Tel / fax 01787 277441 e-mail:
sales@clare-bulbs.co.uk