Capitol Wholesale doesn't carry annuals, but they do have a good selection of perennials. Payless has a fairly good selection of annuals, a good selection of perennials and also carries Annie's Annuals. I've never been to Central, so I can't speak for them. You also might want to look at Alden Lane in Livermore. They have a really great selection of annuals and perennials. Summer Winds on Almaden Expwy. has a decent annual and 4" perennial area. Almaden Valley Nursery is about 2-3 miles up the street from Summer Winds and they are small, a bit more expensive, but good quality. The best selection in 4" perennials that I've seen is Half Moon Bay Nursery in Half Moon Bay, but that may be a bit of a drive for you also, but it's well worth the trip. The is also Yamagami's and Summer Winds on DeAnza Blvd. in Cupertino. Good selections, but a bit expensive. Also.......the San Francisco Flower Show will be coming up in mid March and will have lots of goodies! I'm saving my pennies! Course, this time of year, most nurseries in this area aren't that well stocked, so the selection may be a little thin until late Feb/March and you may have to hit more than one nursery to find what you want. If you're looking for specific items, you might want to call ahead and make sure they're in stock. wanda

Good question. They are a lot cheaper. I grabbed one example, not the best, but I like Cora Vinca. I just searched a big site on the web. Their price is $3.95 for 20 seeds. Big Wholesaler: $4.60 for 100 seeds. With a four person split you get 25 seeds for $1.15. Well, one more example: Salvia, Lady In Red Big Site on the web:$4.95 for 75 seeds Big Wholesaler $5.25 for 500seeds There are many, many better examples that blew me away. You would just have to check the items you like to see what I mean. Incidentally you can buy from them and use the extra seeds, no splitting. Also, the company I use carries 8000 types. Any way we have our four people and are doing the splitting right now. I am mailing mine to all tomorrow. I got an email from a 5th person and told her I would keep the post open incase 3 other people want to join her. But our specific swap in closed. Thanks for the question, Bob

Owl- If you want to focus specifically on bulbs then I would consider Lillies first. Oriental and Asiatics. People go crazy for them and they command a good price at market. I also grow about 1500 mixed Dutch Irises. They grow from a bulb and not a tuber like many other irises. They are the first flowers I bring to market, about the third week of May here in SE Pennsylvania. I sell them 10 stems for $5.00. Very beautiful. Mine go dormant after they bloom and send their leaves up again in the late fall. Sources for lillies and bulbs are Van Engelund, Zabo plants, and Langveld but there are many more out there. I highly reccommend that you pick up a copy of Allen Armitage's book "Specialty Cut Flowers." It has all the information you need to grow, cut, and store your flowers. Each variety has its own particulars, especially when it comes to the "right" time to cut it. Good Luck, Carin

There are a number of fresh cut flower wholesalers on the internet that will deal with the general public and have the flowers delivered directly to your house. I don't know of any local wholesalers that will do that though. Check out this company - I purchased from them for a wedding. Here is a link that might be useful: MorningStar Wholesale Farm Direct Flowers