
Greetings 
This year we celebrate the twenty first year of our business and we do feel 
as though we have reached the age of maturity. Thruout these years we have 
gone thru the regular cycle of growing pains but we have also learned many 
things which experience alone can teach. Now, thanks to the faithful support 
of our many loyal customers thruout the United States we are in a position 
to give better service but we don’t intend to rest on our laurels and become 
stagnant. We are convinsed that the kind of work we are engaged in is very 
much needed and we are making plans to grow and expand our facilities to 
meet the demands of the ever growing host of discriminating garden enthusiasts. 
We have had great joy and satisfaction in importing, breeding, selecting 
and distributing uncomon, rare and new bulbous plants and we know that our 
customers have experienced great elation and pride in growing and exhabiting 
the bulbs they have purchased from us. 
Of course the demand for any new and unusual plant is very limited. Some- 
times a plant is rare for the very fact that there is very little demand for it. 
But that is no reason for the nuseryman to ignore the few enthusiasts who are 
looking for these items, and we are making a genuine efford to satisfy their 
longing for the plants that are different from what everyone else is growing. 
We are not all able to travel the world in search of adventure but we all 
are able to bring a world of adventure into our homes by way of plants from 
the world over. The feeling of elation in seeing a South African flower in 
your own garden is no different from traveling all the way to South Africa 
and seeing it for the first time growing in the wild, and the cost is much less. 
Speaking of cost, the types of bulbs we handle are necessarily more expensive 
than the average popular bulbs. The process of working up a sufficient stock 
is slow and costly and financial returns from most of them are very small 
and sometimes nil. There is none of the profits to be gained by large volume 
turnover. That is one reason why the local nurseryman does not carry these 
bulbs. There is no ready market for them and he can not afford to carry 
any item that there is no call for. So, we feel that everything considered, 
our prices are not out of line for the types of bulbs you are getting. 
As an illustration, let us take Vallota purpurea. This is an extremely beauti- 
ful plant but for some reason or other the supply is very limited. We have 
about fifty bulbs on hand which we obtained for one dollar each. Planting and 
growing them until sold adds to the cost of the item, also the cost of cataloge 
space, advertising, correspondance, packing and postage and the occasional loss 
of some bulbs. Under these conditions what at first seems to be a terrific price 
of $2.50 per bulb is not going to make us rich but if you are willing to pay 
the price it can make you extremely happy. After all, that is only the price 
of a meal in a restaurant these days. 
Even at that, in spite of the fact that within the last twelve months we have 
had to pay extra for such items as telephone, telegraph, postage rates, express 
charges, license fees and taxes, we have cut the prices of many items and 
continue to do so whenever possible. However because of the nature of the 
stock we handle we are not in cut rate price competition. We ourselves 
have often purchased trial bulbs from bargain offers only to confirm our belief 
that you only get what you pay for. 
We are more than happy to send you this catalog free of charge and we 
hope it will prove beneficial and instructive. However you must realize it 
costs a pretty penny to distribute this catalog and in order to carry on this 
service we need your support in the form of an occasional order. Surely 
there are many items listed that you want and need even if you are living in 
an apartment and have no large garden. Won't you feel obligated to sit right 
down before you forget it and send us a $2.00 order? It will go a long way 
toward paying for the catalogs you have been receiving and paving the way for 
better service to you in the future. 
Sincerely, 
J. N. Giridlian 
ace sah ey ge al AU es AS a laine 
a ee a a a LL aS 
