Also a bit of a newbie, Simon .. I think r.e. the more obscure suppliers both of bulbs and of information, you have to accept it's a bit like an ancient craft or an esoteric religion .. you have to serve your time as a novice (alias aconyte, catechumen, etc.) and very gradually the mystical words are given to you. There seem to be several important nurseries which can only be reached by boat, and only then in certain phases of the moon.
I'd add Brenda Troyle, Ginn's Imperati, and one or two plicatus varieties .. I've enjoyed them, failed to kill any, and have felt able to try them in different spots to see how they do. Woottens have a couple of good plicatus, not with registered names .. I've found their 'Woottens Selection' to be very sturdy and it also sets seed more consistently than most other things. There are also a couple of strong varieties I've got on ebay which I've found invaluable for trying in different locations.
ebay is good for getting a lot of variations of G. nivalis from private gardeners selling their own surplus .. we started adding odd clumps bought off ebay and it was noticing the variation among them that really piqued my interest and made me learn to look closely. The going rate on ebay for 'ordinary' nivalis seems to be around £10 per hundred .. and often people sell in 15s, 50s etc, so it's worth a punt, both for tock to try in different places, and for the interest in comparing form. There's almost a conservation angle, too .. for preserving a wide genetic pool, and preserving varieties that would otherwise be lost (there's a lot of 'I'm clearing space for a patio') I think collecting unnamed garden varieties is as worthwhile and rewarding as buying specials.
