About Us

Our History

The Barnhoorn family has been involved in bulb cultivation since the late 1850's in the bulb district of Noordwijk aan Zee, Holland, where three generations of our family were involved in bulb growing, cultivating Tulip and Narcissus (Daffodil) bulbs, Crocus and Gladioli corms. Our small farm is nestled in the hills 500 m above sea level near the township of Lachlan, which is about 40 km from Tasmania's capital Hobart, where the climate is favorable to the growing of bulb species. We started to experiment with many types of bulb species in late 1983 and started to grow flowerbulbs on a commercial boutique scale in 1987 for our mail-order bulb business.

Our Business

We are a small family business suppling bulbs for the domestic retail market. We grow more than 120 Tulip cultivars and many are rare in Australia. The tulip bulbs and also other bulb species are mainly used for our Australia wide mail-order bulb catalogue. The bulbs are despatched to our gardening friends, but also for the supply to nurseries and garden centres in Tasmania and in other states of Australia. We are traditional bulb growers using traditional skills and methods to grow our bulbs. This results in the production of quality bulb stocks. We still name all tulip bulbs we grow and sell according to the Classified List and International Register of Tulip Names which is produced by the Royal General Bulb grower's Association (KAVB), Hillegom, The Netherlands. We produce a free bulb catalogue every year which is despatched in late January and throughout the year.

Our Range

As well as our impressive variety of Tulip cultivars, we have over the years expanded and now also have a range of Hyacinth & Daffodils bulbs, Crocus corms and collectors items such as, Fritillarias, Galanthus or Snow Drops and Erythroniums or Trout Lillies. Crocus Sativus or otherwise known as Saffron Crocus, is one of the most sought after products. It is very easy to grow and would be an ideal addition to any garden. Our Summer Flowering Bulbs and Plants include a wide range of Herbaceous and Tree Paeonies, Oriental, L/A and Asiatic Liliums and Calla Lilies, Gladioli, Bearded Iris and Foxtail Lilies. Oriental Liliums are particularly popular with many of our customers as they are suitable for either the garden or in pots. They also have a remarkable fragrance in a range colors from reds, pinks and whites. We have recently introduced a range of large trees and shrubs which include Silver Birch, Sweet Chestnut, English Oak, Liquidambar and Japanese Maple. We also have a variety of Proteas, Leucadendrons and Waratahs. These shrubs love Australian conditions and once established can handle fairly dry conditions.

The Barnhoorn Family - February 2010