Given as favors, I would give relatively large bulbs of something less expensive rather than small lily bulbs (which the JP bulbs are going to be) for this reason: Lilies are 'fresh' bulbs and never dormant. They need immediate planting after they're received from the shipper. When your guests plant their bulbs, they are going to expect something spectacular. Unless they're gardeners familiar with lily culture they may be disappointed by a small, inexpensive bulb that is slow to perform. In the fall, hyacinths might meet your needs. For non-gardeners, they can be forced in water and tossed after they bloom. People with flower beds can incorporate their hyacinth and it will return for a number of years. Pink or blue hyacinth bulbs are colorful as well. You'll need to warn people, however, that hyacinth bulbs handled with bare hands may have a tendency to make one itch. You also get a pretty bloom from the slightly smaller (less expensive) hyacinth bulbs-- they just don't have as long a stem, which tends to fall over anyway. In my experience, hyacinths are less likely to be eaten by squirrels than crocus, unless you use Tommies if you're giving spring crocus. You might research fall crocus; they are shipped in early September. Shipping dates may be a concern, too. Gladioli in May or June would work well. I've had good results from glads from the dollar store at 4/$1, so you could use inexpensive glad bulbs and expect good results. They're easy; plant and water. Glad bulbs are colorful too if you choose dark colors. I hope you find a bulb that will meet your needs and budget and give your guests something to look forward to bloom and remind of you for years. Nell

Just an update... I potted up the bulbs on March 19th. It was really too chilly before then to really try forcing them. I potted them up in the 8 and 10 inch pots with potting soil. I only filled the pots 3/4 of the way full. Packed in my bulbs pretty close- the 8 inch pots got 7 each, and the 10 inch got 12-15 each. I skipped any mesh- found out my ground critters weren't the tulip eating kind. I set them up at first at the south windows in the three seasons porch, then moved them under the central skylight a month later when most of them had a couple inches worth of green showing and displaying daily tilt. On the first weekend in May, the earliest of them was just starting to drop off bloom, the latest of them was just about to pop. All of them had lovely greenery and a bloom or two going on. The grape hyacinths I gave the same treatment for, I packed them into some recycled fresh mushroom bins. They were fully bloomed by a month later, and almost blown by the weekend. I planted in the bricks of hyacinths into their border at the end of april, with the daffs in their mixed bloom looked lovely. Planted in all the tulips along about 35 feet of fenceline in a shallow 2 foot border, they seem to be doing well there so far, nothing seems to be eating them yet. I don't think I lost any hyacinths in the transplanting so far, I didn't break them up, just planted them in as bricks. Most of the tulips fared well. Lost several Shirley and Orange Queen, they didn't like potting too much. I planted the not quite dead seeming bulbs in anyway, hoping for next year. I gently broke apart the pots into separate bulbs for the border, and several of them already had babies separating off of them shooting up their own greens. I wasn't sure if the insulated garage would have gotten cold enough or not, but apparently so- it also came on fairly quickly after my initial post a seriously deep cold and then real chilly snap, don't know if that helped or not.

How about Bride's Dream? Not tea cup shaped, but very pretty.

No dance at our wedding Feb.23,1960.We married at my aunt's house with cake and punch reception.If we'd had a song to dance to it would have been "Only You" by the Platters.The words expressed how we both felt (and still feel 49 years later) about each other. Marilyn-DH worked all the time too,didn't get paid unless he worked.We tried to plan the day for a Friday so we would have the weekend for the "honeymoon",such as it would be because we had no money to go anywhere.LOL We married on his parent's 25th. anniversary and it didn't work out to be on a Friday.I can't remember what day of the week it was but after the wedding we went and ate at a steak house,42 miles away,then went back home.We lived in the country,17 miles from where he worked and 27 miles from there to the town where my parents lived.Next morning we woke up to 6 in. of snow on the ground! I dressed up in my "going away" suit,heels and SIL's fur jacket she had loaned me. I took him to work then drove to my mom's and spent most of the day with her.She had a fit because I drove that 27 miles with snow on the ground!LOL I went to the grocery store,then picked him up after work and went back home to the country!