ONWARD AND UPWARD: Growing Excelsior Farm One Bloom at a Time
At Excelsior Farm, rows of towering flowers gently sway underneath a gray shade cloth on the acreage Beth and James Romer call home.
Nearly 1,000 dahlia plants grow alongside gladiolus, with hundreds of varieties filling the rows with whites, yellows, pinks, reds, purples and every color combination in between.
Surrounded by blooms of all shapes and sizes, hummingbirds, bees and butterflies flit around the flowers and, on this late-summer morning, a bumblebee nestled atop a bloom, seemingly asleep among the petals.
Heat, hail, insects, hungry deer and the first frost of fall can all affect a growing season. So can the decisions the Romers make along the way, from pinching plants to encourage branching to carefully tending flowers they hope will become show-quality blooms.
For Beth and James, there is always something new to notice and something new to learn.
“Our goal was just to do something every day to make things a little bit better,” Beth explained. “Our farm name is Excelsior Farm, and that means onward and upward.”
For the Romers, onward and upward has meant following flowers from Iowa to North Carolina and back again, learning along the way and finding their way back to the Downtown Farmers’ Market presented by UnityPoint Health.
A Love Story in Bloom
James’ connection with dahlias began with his parents, who discovered a dahlia show at the Minnesota State Fair while they were dating. They began growing the flowers the following year, and James grew up surrounded by them.
Years later, dahlias became part of his own love story. Beth and James met at the Clay County Fair about 30 years ago, and James eventually sent Beth dahlia tubers to try growing herself.
She killed them. “So, I had to marry him,” Beth joked. “I didn’t know how to grow them on my own.”
In 2010, the Romers brought their flowers to the Downtown Farmers’ Market for the first time. They arrived with premade bouquets, only to discover Marketgoers wanted to choose the flowers themselves.
Beth smiled and shook her head, “That was the first and last time that we did premade bouquets.”
Instead, they created a bloom bar, where Marketgoers could select individual stems and make their own combinations.
The idea was a perfect fit. “We enjoy growing them, but we don’t enjoy arranging them,” Beth laughed.
Some customers know exactly what they want. Others start with one flower and build around it, combining different colors, shapes and sizes.
“It’s been very interesting to see what people put together,” James noted. “They’re so creative.”
Putting Down Roots and Coming Home
The Romers’ first chapter at The Market ended after the 2015 season, when a job opportunity took them to North Carolina.
Growing there presented a new set of challenges. Their soil contained so much granite that planting a tree would require a pickaxe, and sparks flew when their tiller hit rocks. So, they nicknamed the annual tilling ritual the “rock rodeo.”
Eventually, another job opportunity brought the Romers back to Iowa and closer to family.
But by then, something had changed. When they left Iowa, Beth and James remembered being the only Market vendor specializing in dahlias. When they returned, the local flower-growing community had expanded.
“We thought, ‘Well, gosh, we’re not unique anymore. What can we do that’s different?’” Beth pondered. “Does it make sense for us to still bring our blooms?”
They decided there was only one way to find out. “Let’s just try it.”
Back in Bloom
The Romers returned to The Market with their bloom bar, and today Excelsior Farm grows an estimated 400 to 500 varieties of dahlias.
On Fridays during Market season, Beth and James often cut flowers late into the evening and then bright and early Saturday morning, they’re headed to Downtown Des Moines.
From May through October, blooms as large as dinner plates fill their Market booth with an array of colors and Marketgoers take it from there.
Beyond The Market, the Romers continue the family tradition of showing flowers at state and county fairs. James’ mother has remained part of that tradition, celebrating her 60th year of showing flowers this year. For the family, growing dahlias has become more than a hobby or a business. It is a tradition that spans generations.
Back at the farm, Beth and James are already thinking about what else they might try. They are exploring hosting a farm stand featuring their own products alongside items from other local producers and are even considering inviting people to the farm to pick flowers themselves.
As they make those plans, they’re also paying attention to neighboring farmers so they can complement those offerings and not compete.
There will always be another variety to try, another growing season to learn from and another idea worth experimenting with.
“We’re still beginning farmers 20 years in,” Beth chuckled.
At Excelsior Farm, that means there is always room to keep growing onward and upward.
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