Clare Bulb Company Ordering Procedure 

How to order.

Using your printer

If you have a printer connected to your computer print a copy of the order form, as shown on this website. It will run to several pages. Fill it in as we suggest below. Customers often find it useful to leave the website price-list on screen so they can look at the pictures of the bulbs (by clicking the varieties in which they are interested), as they fill in the already printed order form.
Having completed the form, remembering to include the cost of carriage if you want us to send your order to you, fill in your debit card details, or attach your cheque for the appropriate amount, and post it to us. We do not process debit card payment or cash cheques until the bulbs are ready to be dispatched, which is never earlier than September 1st, unless the bulbs are "in the green", in which case bulbs are dispatched in the early spring.

If there is a choice of varieties in the item in which you are interested underline, or place a circle, around the variety or varieties in which you are interested. Then show the quantity you want in the "quantity" column. Next show the value of your choice in the "price" box. Your Narcissus entry may look like this:

Ordering without a printer

Decide what you would like to order, and phone us. We will discuss your order with you, making any suggestions as may be appropriate, and transfer the details to one of our order-forms, a copy of which will be enclosed with your order when it is delivered. This option applies best where debit card payment is to be made. However, providing you send us a cheque after the phone call, this option is still OK.

Payment Method

If you are paying by cheque, these should be made out to "The Clare Bulb Co". As a matter of policy we do not cash cheques until the order is ready for dispatch.
Alternately, complete your debit card details as shown at the bottom of the price-list. For additional security please leave the security code entry blank, and we will telephone you for the number once we have received your order. As with cheque payment, we do not process the payment until the bulbs are ready for dispatch. Please note that we are trying to avoid the use of credit cards as the cost to us, as a small company, would require a surcharge on the value of the order.

Carriage charges.  Please note the carriage charges. The basic charge is £7.50. Should however your order contain one or more 25kg sacks of daffodils or narcissus please add £4.25 per sack.  If you place a very large order for daffodils or narcissus we will look to palletise the order, which will reduce the carriage costs. For customers who require delivery outside the normal delivery zones we quote as appropriate. These zones include Ulster, the Highlands and Islands, Channel Islands, Isle of Man, etc.

Delivery arrangements

Bulbs are delivered by carrier to your home. If you have any special delivery instructions (e.g." leave them in the garage if there is no one at home") please add them to your order. 
Bulbs deliveries start in early September. For orders placed after the end of August please allow two weeks from sending us your order before delivery takes place. 

Collecting your order from Clare

Many of our more local customers collect their bulbs from us. This allows them to discuss with us their planting requirements, on which we can perhaps offer advice. Our garden and river are well worth a look, being in some years part of the National Gardens Scheme ( The Yellow Book), and also holding the prize for the "Best Garden in Suffolk" in the one acre category. Pictures of the garden can be seen by clicking here. Clare itself is a beautiful example of a 16^th century wool town, with its castle ruins, country park, antique shops, and interesting shops and pubs. 
We are situated on the main A1092 which runs through the middle of Clare, connecting Clare to Haverhill and Cambridge to the west, and Long Melford and Sudbury to the east. We are in Clare itself, on the Haverhill side. If you click here you will see a map of the area, and click here for our position in Clare. Please note that we close all day on Wednesdays, but are open most weekends, (ring first to make sure!). We open on September 1st for collections, and close around the end of October or early November. Opening times are 9.30 to 5.00.

Weights and Quantities of Daffodils & Narcissus

The weights shown are true at the date of weighing. Daffodil and narcissus bulbs do however gradually lose weight as they dry out. The lost moisture is replaced once the bulbs are planted.
How many bulbs are there in the sacks and bags? The first thing to note is that we sell the larger sizes of bulbs, described as 14/16's (i.e. over 14cms. in diameter). The reason for this is that each bulb will probably produce two, even three flowers, and being larger will grow on more strongly wherever they are planted. A 2kg bag of daffodils holds around 25 bulbs, whilst a 25kg (1/2 Cwt) sack holds just over 300 bulbs. Narcissus are usually a little smaller, and one can expect 30 to 35 bulbs per 2kg, or 400 per sack.  Cheerfulness and Actaea are smaller still, so one will have as many as 45 in a 2kg bag, 550 in a sack.

Quality of bulbs

After 36 years of trading we know our suppliers in Holland and England, and can trust them to deliver us only stock that we are proud to sell. Nonetheless we still choose the old-fashioned method of hand counting our bulbs into bags to give us the opportunity to inspect each one before it leaves our premises. The exception to this are the daffodils and narcissus, although they too are inspected as we weigh them out. This way you can be confident that our low prices are not at the expense of what we sell. It’s about low overheads, high volumes, and modest profit expectations.

100 Days of Daffodils (and Narcissus)

Would you like to have daffodils and narcissus flowering in you garden for 100 days? Here’s our suggestion for the varieties that will give you this, starting with the first to flower, ending with the last.

February Gold: Tete a Tete: Jetfire: Best Seller: Ice Follies: Carlton: Red Devon: Salome :  White or Yellow Cheerfulness:  Actaea.

100 days of tulips

This is our selection for tulips:

Tarda (specie tulip): Fashion (rockery tulip): Red Riding Hood (rockery tulip): Abba ( red double): Princess Irene  (orange):  Red Apeldoorn:  Apricot Impression:  Queen of the Night (black):  Tres Chic (white lily-flowered): Spring Green (Viridiflora):  Libretto (pink parrot tulip)

Trading Policy and Customer Protection Policy

Please click here to access a copy of the above policies.

Conclusion

Thank you for reading this far! We hope you will decide to order your bulbs from us. We know you will be pleased with what you receive. We have built up our business by enjoying a friendly relationship with our customers, and hope we shall be able to do so with you. Please feel free to ring us up if you want more information.