‘An abundance of blooms’: 5 spots to see, pick summer flowers in central Iowa

Mandy Septer says gardening has always been a "family thing," a cherished experience shared with her husband, Tom, and their five children.

They used it as a way to cope with the summer quarantine imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 on their 2-acre farm in Prole, 25 minutes south of Des Moines.

"We appreciated it so much more — the ability to be outside, the ability to be together — and it was something fun," Septer said. "And let's face it, I am much more motivated to take care of flowers in the heat of the summer than vegetables because they're prettier."

And it was around the same time when they decided the experience was too good not to share.

"We were like, 'Let's just take what we normally do and let's just make it massive,'" she said. "If nobody comes, we still have tons and tons of gorgeous flowers that we enjoy."

The outcome was better than the family ever anticipated, even with minimal marketing, Septer said. "We were pretty blown away at just the amount of people we got."

Now in its second season, the business, named Willow Flower Farms, has continued to flourish featuring a u-pick with an assortment of annuals and perennials for purchase through the summer.

"With so many people having such a difficult time through Covid ... we thought this would be a great thing to be able to share with people. Let them have a chance to enjoy the flowers, enjoy being outside."

But that's not the only place to view summer flowers in central Iowa. Visitors can pose for a selfie, make a bouquet, take a class or simply take in the beauty at these hot spots for late summer blooms.

Willow Flower Farms

The flower farm, located just south of Des Moines, features a summer u-pick that runs through September, then by appointment.

The farm has a half-acre devoted to its u-pick garden. But don't be fooled by its size. This small but mighty space has 16 beds of flowers including zinnias, celosia, cosmos, snapdragons and sunflowers, according to Mandy Septer, who co-owns the farm with her husband.

Septer says the garden is always changing and new flowers come into bloom often.

Visitors are invited to choose either a pitcher or a bucket, grab a pair of clippers and start cutting flowers. Pricing is based on the size of the container people choose: Pitchers are $25 and buckets are $65. Mini pitchers are offered for $5 extra for children to accompany a pitcher.

The u-pick is open noon to 7 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays and from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays

The space can accommodate small outdoor tea and birthday parties, and picnics with advance notice.

"We don't have indoor space for anybody at the moment," Septer said. But "if we can make it happen for someone — if we can accommodate their request — we absolutely will."

And while the public season will likely run through the end of August this year, Septer says so long as there are flowers, people are welcome to come cut by appointment.

The farm also will participate in a few events in the fall, including the Warren County BackRoads & ByWays Junkin' Tour, held semi-annually, and the Water Lantern Festival at Water Works Park.

Willow Flower Farms also has four-and six-week bouquet subscriptions between July and September. The weekly arraignments include the "beauty of the season" and can be a treat for yourself or to give as a gift. A bouquet can also be traded in for a u-pick session.

Address: 5119 Harding St., Prole

Website: willowflowerfarms.com

Center Grove Orchard

Center Grove Orchard's 5-acre sunflower meadow in Cambridge is expected to open in late August for admiring and picking flowers.

Jacquelyn Staudt, the orchard's public relations and communications manager, said the sunflowers will be approaching full bloom just in time for the meadow's opening on Aug. 27.

And for the first time, the orchard is hosting a butterfly release event on the same day of the opening, Staudt said. Visitors can purchase butterflies online before their visit and get them in an envelope at the orchard before the event. The butterflies will be released at 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. in the sunflower meadow. Each butterfly is $5.95.

The sunflower meadow is split into three plots, Staudt said, to elongate the season. The fields will be open daily from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. until mid-October. Guests can take a hayride to the fields to take photos and cut flowers for purchase.

Admission to the meadow is included in the general farmyard admission for $16.95 and $13.95 per person for weekend and weekday day passes, respectively. Flowers are available for purchase per stem or bucket.

Apples will be available in September, followed by pumpkins. Other farmyard activities include a corn pool, slides, farm animals and more, along with food vendors.

Visitors are welcome to snap photos of the fields, though professional photographers should review the orchard's Professional Photography Policy.

Address: 32835 610th Ave., Cambridge

Website: centergroveorchard.com

PepperHarrow Farm

The devastation from last spring's Winterset tornado hasn't slowed boutique flower farm owners Jenn and Adam O'Neal.

The couple said their Madison County farm, PepperHarrow, still needs some finishing touches to its event center and is still missing a barn, but they are finally starting to feel like their beloved place is returning to "normal."

"We've given ourselves a ton of grace this year," Jenn said.  "We feel like we overcame the biggest challenge, hopefully, of our entire lives. The amount of resilience that we know we have — I don't know if it's rare, but I think when you experience something like that, you really know the tough stuff that we're all made of."

With hard work and a lot of help from neighbors, Jenn says it's blue skies ahead for their 11-year-old business.

About 8.5 acres of PepperHarrow's farm is dedicated to flower fields, stocked with zinnias, celosias, cosmos and more.

"Our flowers are in full bloom and it literally looks like a rainbow of color," Jenn said. "We've really come a long way."

While PepperHarrow isn’t open to the public, there are a number of ways to visit the farm and get your hands on flowers.

Those who want to visit the farm can purchase tickets online for u-cut experiences, hosted from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Fridays and noon to 4 p.m. Saturdays. Visitors can grab a bucket to collect flowers, then arrange their selections into bouquets and take home a vase. Tickets cost $25 per bouquet.

"At this point, we have so many flowers out in the field, that we're like, 'We just have to share this with people,'" Jenn said. "We have an abundance of blooms. There is more out here than we know what to do with."

Visitors are also welcome to bring a picnic to the farm during the u-cuts, Adam said, though there will be an option to purchase a charcuterie platter online with the u-cut ticket. The u-pick season typically lasts until mid-October.

PepperHarrow also offers a variety of classes and events, including Bloom Bar Sunday, where visitors can arrange bouquets from pre-cut flowers, and a candle-making class in September. Professional photographers can schedule slots to come out to take photos and the farm can host private events.

On Sept. 17, the space is hosting Madison County Conservation Board's annual fundraiser, Evening Under the Stars, featuring an al fresco dinner and stargazing. U-cut bouquets will be offered at the fundraiser, which will go back to the conservation board.

"It's part of our community give-back because our community came around and gave us so much," Jenn said.

Bouquets can be purchased from 7 a.m. to noon every Saturday at Des Moines’ Downtown Farmers’ Market. Bouquets can also be purchased at Gateway Market and Des Moines Mercantile.

PepperHarrow's 2-acre lavender fields are still standing and "smell amazing," Jenn says. Up next, dahlias will "peak" in mid-September followed by a second wave of the farm’s sunflowers in late September.

"It's really a highlight that draws visitors out to our farm," she said. "When September rolls around, literally there are so many blooms, we can't even keep up with cutting them all ... they're really stunning."

Address: 1809 S Fourth Ave., Winterset

Website: pepperharrowfarm.com

Rose Farm

Rose Farm, a boutique flower farm in Norwalk, is in full summer mode with 49 varieties of flowers in bloom including hydrangeas, celosia, sunflowers and dahlias.

The 25-acre farm features three gardens named after "chief inspiration officer" Karri Rose's grandmothers and mother-in-law. The largest garden, the "Grace," named after Rose's grandmother, has more than 20,000 flowers. This is the third year the farm has been open to the public and its fourth growing season.

The farm also features an education and lifestyle center. Six educators offer classes and "workshoppes" on everything from horticulture to culinary arts.

Farm School, offered at no cost on Fridays during the summer, will host its last class of the season this week. Different themes are offered each week from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., from bugs to chickens.

“We really try hard to educate our young children on what farms can be like," Rose previously told the Register. "I don’t think it just has to be a row crop or a livestock farm."

The farm will cap off the Farm School series with a free carnival featuring face painting, games, popcorn, and slushies.

Rose Farm partnered with the West Des Moines Public Library to provide stories and activities during the Farm School sessions.

“We’re really just a place to build community. Yes, we’re flower farmers but we do a lot more than that,” Rose said.

Of course, flowers are a big part of what they do. Rose Farm has a garden club where members can purchase a bucket and sheers for $65 and refill it as many times as they want during the season for $15-off.

Grab-and-go bouquets are also available when the farm is open. The days and hours change seasonally but the farm is currently open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturday and 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Sundays.

The farm changes seasonally and will be open until the Sunday before Christmas.

Rose said the space also offers a variety of private parties and events and photographers are welcome to come out and shoot at the farm by signing up on the website. Sundays at the Farm, for example, invites guests to drink homemade sweet tea, listen to live music, pick flowers, relax in an Adirondack chair or have a picnic experience.

“We say we have the best guests ever, they love to tell everyone about us and really the farm has grown so organically,” she said.

In the fall, the farm will continue hosting events such as Power Life Yoga on Saturdays and Sundays at the Farm featuring weekly concerts. The farm will also be open for pumpkin picking. Check the website after Labor Day to see Rose Farm's full fall schedule.

Address: 7197 43rd Ave., Norwalk

Website: rosefarmstead.com

Chichaqua Bottoms Greenbelt, Highway 30 west of Boone

Though most Department of Natural Resources-managed sunflower fields in Polk County are just past their peak bloom, people may have a few days to catch the last of the photogenic flowers at a few locations, according to DNR information specialist Mick Klemesrud.

The best part: It's all free.

One spot, Klemesrud said is a field on the west side of NE 112th Street north of Mitchellville, heading into Chichaqua Bottoms Greenbelt. Though past its prime, Klemesrud says there is a limited window over the next few days to see some sunny-yellow leaves.

Another spot is a field located on Highway 30, west of Boone. The famous fields at Badger Creek State Recreation Area in Van Meter are just past their peak bloom.

From 2020: Sunflowers out in force at Badger Creek State Recreation Area

While the wildlife unit fields a number of phone calls asking where the sunflower plots are, the primary purpose for the fields is for dove hunters.

The sunflower fields — planted in late April to early May and mature by the middle of August — help attract a number of doves. A portion of the fields will be mowed in about 10 to 14 days to scatter the seed before the season starts Sept. 1.

Until then, the sunflower fields are a popular spot for photographers and those looking to get out and about.

DNR has a listing of the locations for the sunflower fields it maintains at iowadnr.gov/Hunting/Migratory-Game-Birds/Mourning-Doves. People can then scroll down to the food plot sites pdf to view the spots.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Late-summer flowers in bloom at Willow Flower, PepperHarrow farms