About Us
About the Lily Pad Bulb Farm
We are a family-owned and operated farm, based in Olympia, Washington for the past 25 years. We began our operation as cut flower growers and have expanded into bulb and root production for nation-wide distribution. Thus we are legitimate and experienced growers, rather than back-yard gardeners and dealers in so-called "left-overs" from Holland. To a lesser extent we are also importers of fine bulbs and plants, new or rare to the domestic market. We trial everything that we buy in order to determine its quality and garden-worthiness and provide insight and pertinent first-hand details to our .customers. Part of our imported stock becomes planting stock for perpetuation of worthy varieties in our domestic fields. We have entered into contractual terms with certain other West Coast growers to grow some of our bulbs for us. We provide the stock and they provide the labor, land, and technological expertise. This is done partly to boost our capacity and partly to ensure against crop failure. So to summarize, the majority of our bulbs are domestically produced, even those originating in Holland and the Orient. We do honor plant patent rights and buy directly from authorized growers when dealing with patent-protected varieties.
Why do business with us?
New and better varieties
Tired of chain-store and garden-center “same old” varieties? We specialize in items you can't find in stores. We are well-connected in the industry and stay alert to recent exciting developments, and new and improved characteristics.
Bigger bulbs
In most distribution channels (especially non-domestic) the really big bulbs are unobtainable because they are scarce to begin with, are used mainly for propagation purposes, and are too costly to ship to the customer. On the other hand, we are dedicated to providing top-size bulbs, generally 18-20 cm for Oriental, Orienpet, and Trumpet lilies (take a look at our BULB-ZILLA™ product category, which provides an opportunity to obtain even bigger bulbs than routinely provided). Big bulbs produce more flowers their very first year, and of course will continue to grow larger in your garden every year. By doing business with us, you short-cut your waiting period and enjoy instant gratification in your garden. (Note: some types of bulbs are, by nature, small, and bloom well from small sizes). We will always specify bulb size and provide the largest size obtainable for those).
Quality and best value
Due to rampant finger-pointing in the business (some with basis), we must disassociate ourselves from the mass bulb marketers and discounters who deal in inferior tired bulbs, many mislabelled and past "pull date", dumped by the Dutch market. We place a higher value on our reputation and accountability to the customer than to engage in such business. Our bulbs come either directly from our fields, our growers' fields, breeders, or sources with whom we have established a long relationship of trust. We have our own system of post-harvest quality control to identify potential problems before they reach our customers. Our bulbs are maintained under appropriate controlled-temperature and controlled humidity conditions. Although we don't fall into the category of "discounter", we do pride ourselves on best price for comparable varieties, quality, and size of bulbs.
WE GUARANTEE DELIVERY OF HEALTHY BULBS, WHICH ARE TRUE TO NAME UPON BLOOMING
In an industry where lack of accountability and impersonal treatment prevails, we are committed to stand behind our procduct. We maintain tight control over quality issues and are ready to promptly replace or refund anything which meets with your disapproval. We need the following in order to form the basis of a coherent and actionable claim for failed bulbs.:Some problems may be apparent upon delivery. If not, we allow one growing season to make a claim. If the plant fails to bloom the first year, we will extend the time limit to two growing seasons.
Please report the following by Aug. 31, 2010 for anything planted from Fall 2009 to Spring 2010. (In general, we allow one growing season to report problems)
--Your name and address
--Where did you purchase your bulbs, online? garden show? Farmers' market?
--Names and quantities of bulbs that failed
--Description of the problem
--Report the condition of bulbs which failed to come up. (You will need to physically examine the planting site to see what became of the bulb). Did it dry up? Did it rot? Did it get eaten? Did the stem get bitten off before emerging? These kinds of clues can help identify the true nature of the failure in order to prevent the same issues from arising again and again.
Qualifications:
Please note that we disclaim responsibility for problems which are beyond our control, such as delayed or improper planting, usuasual weather or environmental circumstances, animal damage or other mechanical injuries Also exempt from the guarantee are the following:
1. Lack of top growth on Martagon lilies. This is somewhat normal for the first year. If nothing shows up the second year, we will take action.
2. Poor performance on bulbs grown indoors or in undersized pots (These are not recommended approaches)
3. Lack of flowering the first year. Many perennials don't bloom the first year, especially peonies and daylilies. The chances are highly likely of first-year bloom for lilies, but NOT guaranteed. This is the nature of perennial gardening and we would hope that the dedicated gardener would bear these uncertainties of nature, rather than holding the supplier solely responsible.
4. Own-root tree peonies may not bloom for several years. We can't guarantee how long it will take.
It is perfectly appropriate for you to report concerns at any time. We are eager to help you, and work with you to arrive at a mutually agreeable solution to anything that seems wrong to you.
Customer Service
We believe in "Real Person" customer service. We are actually happy to hear from you. Our phone staff and email staff is knowledgeable about all aspects of growing and care, and can provide prompt response to your concerns. Our voicemail is answered on a regular basis should you encounter busy line or voicemail greeting. Email is always acknowledged by a "real person." Our service also extends to state-of-the-art storage, packaging, and shipping of product, something that our larger competitors often fail to provide.
Considering the size and quality of our stock, the ready service we provide, and our guarantee, we believe you are getting top value for your money, by doing business with THE LILY PAD.
Rumor Control
Some of you have reported verbal rumors rightfully aimed at disreputable mass marketers and discounteers of Dutch bulbs, but MISDIRECTED against our Company. As the story goes, an unnamed competitor has been misinforming you, apparently to discredit the source and quality of our bulbs. Let us reassure you that these concerns are without basis.
- The quality of our product has spoken for itself for the past 23 years, We've attracted and retained thousands of enthusiastic customers, brimming with positive testimonial. We welcome you to read their comments. You may also be interested in viewing our ratings with Dave's Garden Watchdog. (Just Google Dave's Garden Watchdog, The Lily Pad) We are secure in our reputation, without needing to discredit our competition. We hope you will consider the source when confronted with negative rhetoric. Are you sure you're getting objective and authoritative information about us from our competitors?
- We are totally forthright about the source, condition and size of our bulbs. If you want to know, just ask!. The source of our bulbs is mainly domestic, much of it from our own fields. As described at the top of this page, we do pursue opportunities to add new varieties and patented varieties by importing certain things from reputable sources that we know and trust. Pursuant to that we examine and test everything that we buy. Strict quality control standards are in force here. We find that because of strict federal agricultural inspection, the imported bulbs tend to be exceptionally high quality, or they would never make it into the country. Let us summarize all this controversy about source, by saying that the real quality issue is not source, but MANAGEMENT of the bulbs. This is where some of the larger impersonal mail-order companies seem to be failing their customers. We do not deserve to be put in the same category with those dealers, as our critics are trying with futility to do.
- "Frozen bulbs" The real scoop: This designation has been invoked, almost as a dirty word, by some of our detractors attempting to point the finger on this issue (even though they themselves market such goods at times). A more proper term for this is “Pre-cooled” bulbs, which means the bulbs are carefully maintained at 29 degrees Fahrenheit to inhibit pre-mature sprouting and to assure more uniform growth at the proper time.
Fact: We never import or pre-cool our Fall-harvested bulbs
(to de-bunk the kinds of things you may hear from the other camp). All Fall-dug bulbs are domestically produced by us or by our Northwest Associates, and shipped fresh from the harvest. They don't need pre-cooling as long as you plant them right away and don't try to force them right off the bat.
Some of the bulbs we sell in the Spring are from Holland, which arrive here pre-cooled. Temperature is gradually raised to thaw and package the bulbs, after which they go into our temperature and humidity-controlled cooler (NOT freezer). Bulbs are withdrawn as needed for our shipping activities and for our planting stock. There is absolutely no adverse effect on quality or performance. In fact most domestic cut flowers growers PREFER Dutch pre-cooled bulbs. Commercial flower growers are as picky as they come, when it comes to bulb quality.
Think about this from a realistic standpoint. A temperature of 29 degrees F. is barely below the freezing point. For the short duration of time our bulbs are held at this temperature, there is no big deviation from natural outdoor Winter temperature in many people's gardens. In essence, pre-cooling is quite natural.
We hope this clears up some of the scare-stories that may have been circulating. Our focus will continue to be, not on diminishing the competition, but in optimizing our own product and service, giving out correct information, and de-bunking myths, on behalf of our wonderful and deserving customers.
WHY SPRING SALES OF LILY BULBS IS NOT A BAD THING.
One rumor circulating is that Spring sales of bulbs is BAD. We market bulbs into early June. From experience as cut flower growers AND as gardeners, we can assure you that this is a very feasible and rewarding manner in which to obtain spectacular bloom at a time little else is happeneing, i.e, September and even October if you want to push your luck. OUR POLICY IS FULL DISCLOSURE in marketting bulbs in the Spring. If the bulbs are a little sprouted, we discount them accordingly and point out the disadvantages of over-sprouted bulbs. We absolutely won’t sell anything that’s only fit for livestock fodder, and certainly never aim to deceive the customer For late planting of cooler-stored bulbs, we find these totally appropriate for gardening purposes, by observing a few simple growing tips, which we share with our customers at the point of sale. .There is a chance of cutting short the growing cycle if planted very late, however this does not desroy the bulbs. It may put them a bit out of phase for a year, but patient gardeners will be rewarded in time with a perennial planting of lilies, no matter how late they are planted. Consider how much money gardeners spend on their ANNUAL ornamentals for the late season, knowing full well they will never be seen again beyond that season. Compare this expense with the cost of a $2.00 or $3.00 lily, which has the potential to beautify your garden in 60 to 120 days, and the added benefit of returning in following years, with just a minimum of upkeep and patience. -Even WITHOUT the added perennial benefit, this is not any worse an outcome than buying potted annuals every year for late-season beauty.
As always, our bulbs are guaranteed for the purchase price, if they do not perform as we describe. Certain performance disqualifiers are imposed in the case of drastically discounted bulbs.