Van Engelen and John Scheepers are sister companies owned by Jan S. Ohms. Jan is a fourth-generation Dutch flower bulb specialist who grew up in the Dutch bulb fields and spent his entire adult life importing and selling flower bulbs in the United States after moving here from Holland.

Back in the early 1970s, Jan and his wife, Faith Ohms, purchased the Van Engelen Company's Valley Stream, Long Island mailing list from Arie J. van Engelen who was selling off his businesses in Europe and the United States. Jan had the idea of creating a wholesale flower bulb catalog for American homeowners with large gardens and decided that the little Van Engelen list would be a good start.

Working out of their home in Stamford, CT, Jan and Faith compiled a small flower bulb price list, hand labeled them and mailed them out to the 600 to 800 name Van Engelen list. Jan likes to remember how happy he was when the first year's annual sales topped $35,000 and he earned $4,000. Working with Dutch childhood friends and family associates in the Netherlands, Jan expanded the flower bulb collection year after year as Van Engelen grew beyond his wildest dreams.

In 1982, Jan and Faith moved from their home in Stamford and purchased Stillbrook Farm in Litchfield, CT where the company was headquartered until 1993 when Van Engelen's growth mandated larger, more business-like quarters. It was no longer a home business. Today, Van Engelen offers one of the largest collections of flower bulbs available in the United States. Although still operated as a family business where Jan Ohms is now C.E.O., Van Engelen has a large, 27,000 square foot warehouse and office, modeled after traditional Dutch bulb warehouses. Known for the high quality of its flower bulbs, extensive collection and incredible prices, Van Engelen currently imports tens of millions of flower bulbs each year.

Van Engelen's Bantam, CT warehouse begins to fill up with flower bulbs in mid-August, when the first of dozens of refridgerated containers arrives from a two-week Atlantic crossing. Stored in the temperature and humidity controlled warehouse, the flower bulbs are held until the full inventory is complete and the shipping season begins in mid-September and concludes just before Thanksgiving.

Van Engelen offers flower bulbs in larger quantities with wholesale pricing while John Scheepers offers the same high quality bulbs in smaller quantities. Although Van Engelen is considered a wholesale company, selling to botanical gardens, large public gardens, landscape designers, municipalities and stores, it also caters to home owners who need bulbs in larger quantities.

For information about Van Engelen's sister company, John Scheepers, just click on www.johnscheepers.com.