Royal City farm to host Dahlia Days this weekend
Gray Girl Farms owner Kylie Gray-Eilers will host a festival this weekend dedicated to dahlias. Gray-Eilers founded the farm to support herself and her children and considers being a farmer a dream come true.
COURTESY PHOTO/GRAY GIRL FARMS
Dahlia devotees can cut all the flowers they want at Gray Girl Farms’ Dahlia Days Saturday and Sunday.
Sharing a love of growing things is a way of life for Gray Girl Farms owner Kylie Gray-Eilers.
ROYAL CITY — Dahlia lovers will have a chance to top up their supply this weekend – and have a little end-of-summer fun at the same time. Gray Girl Farms in Royal City is holding its annual Dahlia Days U-pick event Saturday and Sunday.
“I think this is a great time of year to do it, because the rest of the world is winding down and that’s when dahlias really hit their stride,” said Gray Girl Farms owner Kylie Gray-Eilers. “They thrive in the warm days and cool nights.”
Dahlia Days is the one time of year that Gray Girl Farms is open to the public for picking, Gray-Eilers said. Most of her sales are done online. About 150 people came out last year, she said.
Besides the flowers, there will be food and craft vendors, Gray-Eilers said, as well as bouncy houses so children can work out their wiggles.
This is the third year Gray Girl Farms has opened up for Dahlia Days, Gray-Eilers said. She started the flower farm seven years ago as a way of dealing with postpartum depression, according to her website. Today, Gray Girl Farms has seven acres planted in dahlias and another two acres in peonies, and she and her husband use the flower farm not only as a business but as a way to teach their five children a work ethic.
Admission to the event is free, and for those who want to cut flowers, the cost is $30 per bucket and the customer supplies the bucket. Customers are also encouraged to bring their own cutting implements, according to the website, although Gray-Eilers has a few pairs of snips and scissors for those who need them.
“Dahlias are fun,” she said. “They’re intricate. They’re a really unique flower and people love to baby them and take care of them.”
Dahlia Days
12-4 p.m. Oct. 4-5
Gray Girl Farms
11549 Road E SW, Royal City
Free admission, flowers $30 per bucket
Dahlia devotees can cut all the flowers they want at Gray Girl Farms’ Dahlia Days Saturday and Sunday.
Sharing a love of growing things is a way of life for Gray Girl Farms owner Kylie Gray-Eilers.