heirloom bulbs from Old House Gardens

I came upon Old House Gardens while researching for next year's plantings. A couple of things appealed to me about OHG.

*User friendly format/website.
*Friendly, honest, and knowledgeable.
*The descriptions and photos of the flowers they offer are extremely helpful.
*Quantities generally start small depending on the flower, which is perfect for me.
*Ordering is easy.

Despite TH having warned me to not over do it with the plantings, I selected a few more bulbs to grow on the balcony. And seeing as I was not limited to buying 10 or more in a pack, I was not worried about over planting next year as I did during my first year.

With that said, I'm really excited about planting the bulbs I got from Old House Gardens. Firstly, they're super nice and professional regarding customer care. They kept me informed at each step of the my order being processed. Secondly, I love that they send and include handwritten letters. It just makes the relationship personable, and I appreciate these things.

The bulbs arrived safely and carefully packed in the box! The bulbs are packaged in brown paper bags with the description stapled to each bag. The lily bulbs was packaged in a plastic bag with some wood shavings. A kind hand written note was included along with planting instructions and a copy of their color catalog though more bulbs are offered online.

My order included the following:
(photos and description are from the Old House Garden website)

The Black Parrot tulip. I've seen other photos of the Black Parrot from other online bulb sellers but this one cried out to me. I thought this would be nice addition to the black and white theme for the balcony garden.

"The best parrot tulip of the 20th century and dramatic enough to be showcased on the covers of both Martha Stewart Living and Horticulture, ‘Black Parrot’ is a dark, glossy maroon, exuberantly ruffled and frilled."


Orange Favorite tulip. And then I saw this and the black and white theme balcony garden went out the window. Another parrot tulip with beautiful and complimentary colors.

"This deliciously fragrant flower is “one of the best of all tulips,” writes Anna Pavord in her monumental Bulb, although it’s “not for the faint-hearted.” (Does that sound like a challenge?) Its “exceptionally long” buds open into “stupendous,” glossy, ruffled blooms of orange feathered with wisps of rose and green."


Florentine tulip. I could not resist getting a few of these adorable yellow tulips. I love how the outer petals curl at the tips. The description certainly helped to seal the deal!

"Violet-scented and informal, this charming wildflower has small, yellow, almond-shaped flowers that nod in bud and then open wide in the sun."


Coral Lily. While browsing through OHG's website, I saw these cute lilies and I just had to have this in our garden!

"...this pixie lily has glossy, red-to-orange flowers that are bright but never gaudy."


And, I was pleased to learn in their recent newsletter that they would be including extra bulbs to orders that are shipped to areas affected by Super Hurricane Sandy. My package arrived with an extra bag of Brilliant Star tulip bulbs. I'm really looking forward to planting them and seeing them bloom!

"Its glossy red petals are pointed, giving it a star-like form, and when they open wide in the sun to reveal their bright yellow and black center, the effect is truly “grand, rich, and dazzling” "

I would definitely return to Old House Gardens in the future for spring planting flowers. They have a great selection. The prices are reasonable in my opinion. I recommend going to them if you're seeking some beautiful and unique flowers to grow in your garden especially if you want to set yourself apart from your neighbors.

The sequence of the photos are in the same order as they were packaged in the photo above.