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"REPORT TO OUR CUSTOMERS 
“It is now twenty-one years ago that we wrote the 
first introduction to our annual price list, twenty-one 
years of patient building up of stocks, of making new 
friends in the trade and of filling their ever-increasing 
orders. In all these years we have continually striven 
to produce,and supply the best possible quality in all 
bulbs grown by us. We have also striven to maintain 
the best selection of varieties and to create a demand 
for them'by means of exploiting every avenue of pub- 
licity or promotion at our command. That our efforts 
in this direction have borne fruit is proved by our 
ever-mounting volume of sales. In spite of substantially 
larger acreages devoted to bulbs every year, we have 
not yet been able to fill the demand. Starting our busi- 
yness in 1928 with less than twenty acres of bulbs, 
mostly in what would now be very poor varieties, in 
the fall of 1949 we actually planted over a hundred 
acres of daffodils and some fifty acres in lilies, bulbous 
iris and miscellaneous bulbs. 
The larger part of this acreage is taken up by novel- 
ties. Our assortment of lilies, for instance, is unique. 
It contains large numbers of hybrids, such as those 
between L. tigrinum and L. umbellatum, that will revo- 
lutionize the industry. We have acres of new trumpet 
lilies, acres of new: Madonna lilies and untold numbers 
of new and startling hybrids. The same applies to our 
daffodil collection which in quality and variety is sec- 
ond to none. In iris, in addition to our National Velvet 
which has been so well received in 1948, we have a 
number of other valuable hybrids. At this time we 
mention these acquisitions to show the reader that any 
time from April to October a visit to our farms will be’ 
amply rewarded by a showing of unique plant material, 
much of it of great potential value to American horti- 
culture. | 
Without doubt the 1948 harvest season was the 
wettest and, hence, the most difficult one that we have 
experienced. The harvest started late and, since the 
bulbs were wet, it took more time than usual to get 
them graded and cured. Shipments went out on’ the 
average a week later than usual and many of our cus- 
tomers may well have been impatient with us on that 
score. That this delay in shipping was shared by all 
other growers on the Pacific Coast did not help, except 
in showing that it was unavoidable. The same condi- 
tions of wet and cold weather prevailed during the 
earlier part of the lily harvest. The weather brought 
with it some peculiar problems, such as trouble with 
PAGE 2 
- aspects of the daffodil family for the “F lower Grower”, 
_contributions to the “Home Garden” and to “Sunset” 





the type of glue used ty us in sookanioes AML th 
experience gained has been carefully noted by us and 
improvements .in our methods of handling have been 
worked out, so that we can avoid much of the delay in 
future years. re. : - 
As it was, we can consider ourselves extremely for 
tunate that we did-not suffer more from either flood or. 
storm damage. Two of the largest plantings near us ~ 
were a total loss after the disastrous Columbia river 
flood on Memorial Day. ~The courage of the Woodland, — 
Washington, growers to start afresh is indeed nee ee 
able. . ve zs 
We intended to print again this year a completers : 
descriptive catalog, showing the new classification for — aa, 
daffodils worked out by the Royal Horticultural Society ~ : oS > 
of Englarid. Just as we were preparing this book, we 
received a request to postpone the introduction of the es 
new classification until next year, 1950, and we there- Pee 
fore have temporarily abandoned the more mal ee ‘ a ewe: 
catalog that we had’planned. This may be just as well, 420 
since by the fall of 1949 we should have complete joe ; Wee ee 
scriptions of all new lilies and iris and may bé ableto . 
include them in the book. We shall soon distributea 
news letter on the subject of the new classification of © Ja 
daffodils, so that you and your clients willhave advance ae 
notice of the changes that are being planned. eet, 
As in previous years, in 1948 we were able to obtain 
considerable publicity for bulbs in general and oN if a ae 
lilies, daffodils and iris in particular. “House & _ 
Garden” printed a lengthy article on lilies in its Sep- | = as 
tember issue. Illustrated in black and white, it served — ae pring ea 
as an advance notice to all gardeners of the many new — 
and valuable garden lily hybrids that are being grown ~ 
today and that will be offered in the very near future. oe cree 
Articles on bulbous iris for “Horticulture”, on various — 
972 













magazine were part of the publicity that we.were ie 
to obtain. The considerable response that we receive — 
after every article is published is overwhelming proof, 
if such Were still needed, that this form of publicity or 
promotion is of great value to the dealers. Itisaserv- 
ice to the public and to the amateur gardener t that they > 
very much appreciate. All inquiries resulting from these _ 
articles, as well as all other questions that reach us 
from private gardeners, are referred to the. nearest 
dealers. Our business is exclusively whole ane 
intend to keep it that way. 
igh 
