
Nicolaas Blokker (1839) married Lena Kokkes from De Rijp in 1867. Together they had nine children, including their eldest son Jan. In 1866, Nicolaas started a flower bulb business on Startingerweg in Akersloot, later known as ‘Van “t Hof and Blokker”. He grew 77 varieties of flower bulbs, mainly tulips, but also crocuses, fritillaries and lilies (lancifolium).
In 1868, the company was officially established. That year, Firma N. Blokker grew 18,990 lines of tulips, good for ƒ1,183.75½ (€537.16). The half-cent was carefully noted. Unfortunately, Nicolaas died at a young age due to a fatal accident.