Novice gardener Q - where do you buy your bulbs from?

[mamabluestar]

As the title really.

I'm looking to buy bulbs to plant for spring - ideally snowdrops, crocus', daffodils and tulips (although open to other ideas too 😊).

Any tips where to buy them from? I'm happy to order online or buy in real life. Having said that, I saw a big bag of daffodil bulbs in Home Bargains but wasn't sure what to look out for to make sure they were decent quality (but them doubt my thinking 🫣 😆 and wonder if I should simply get the cheapest to play with and learn from).

Thank you

Parkers tulip bulbs appeal to slugs so you might need to put them in pots with copper tape.

I get mine from supermarkets, B&Q, The Range or B&M. Last year I ordered some from the Farmer Gracy website.
I just go for whatever is cheapest/on offer.

If you want really good quality which last then you do have to buy from a proper supplier IME. The Dutch ones who ship are good

I just use my local garden centre

There are some good deals online right now. Thomson and Morgan, or J Parker do "bumper" spring bulb packs, usually you have to pay postage too.
Peter Nyssen is a Dutch company that sells really good quality bulbs with masses of choice, but you pay more for the quality.
If you aren't bothered about particular varieties or colour and height of flowers etc, then just buy a big bag from anywhere. Check that the bulbs are dry and healthy, firm, and no obvious signs of mould (discoloured or crumbly patches). Tulip bulbs should look glossy, daffodil bulbs are more gnarly looking.

I visit the Netherlands regularly so buy them over there 😅 In my experience, the B&Q/B&M etc ones are fine, but definitely smaller, despite pretty much all being from the Netherlands too. I always wonder whether the Dutch suppliers send their undersized bulbs abroad...

I've bought from farmer gracy in the past. They were good. Nice fat bulbs.
They didn't have what I wanted the last two years. I was going to buy from Peter nyssen, but they ran out of the tulip I wanted mid September so I bought from J parker last year and ashridge nurseries this year. The j parker ones were noticeably smaller, but did still grow.

Thanks everyone. I'm going to drag my husband out over the weekend to have a look

I buy tulip bulbs from Farmer Gracy or Sarah Raven, waiting until November or even December for the sales. But with the knowledge that some varieties will have sold out by then.

The quality and size of the bulbs is much better than what’s available at garden centres / B&Q / supermarkets here, I think.

B and m bargains have 3 bags for £5 . Lots of varieties from narcissus (miniature daffodils) to irisies to lillies. I brought some from the co op (same deal) five years ago and they haven't let me down yet

Same here ! Waiting impatiently for the proper sales to begin

If you are buying them from a shop, give them a squeeze - they should be hard, dry and crispy with no give in them. They should look fresh & plump, without blackened or blue-grey mouldy areas. Imagine you are selecting loose onions in the supermarket.

Online is good for less well-known varieties, but they can be trickier to grow if you don't have much experience.

Not the most stylish maybe but I find Lidl tulip bulbs perform well.