120-year-old Boulder farm blooms again
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BOULDER, Colo. — When spring arrives, the irises at Long’s Gardens light up in a dazzling array of colors, their bearded blooms drooping like silk cloaks.
Owner Catherine Long grows more than 1,000 varieties of iris, from miniature dwarf irises that top out at six inches, to tall, bearded irises that stretch three feet.
Choosing which ones to grow can be tricky. Every year, horticulturists release hundreds of new varieties. But growing too many varieties can work against the sales.
“It overwhelms people,” said Long, 73, who grew up on the farm in north central Boulder. In the 1950s Long could still gallop to her friends' houses on horseback; Iris Avenue had yet to be paved.
The city’s population has more than quintupled since Long’s childhood, driving up property values and leading to development on land previously used for agriculture. The median home price in the City of Boulder was just below $1 million in 2024. Nationwide, housing and non-agricultural development consume 2,000 acres of farmland daily.
“As our land kind of got surrounded, I began to feel a little bit like I was in a fishbowl,” said Long. “It's really the only farm of any size left within the city.”
Video: Cormac McCrimmon, Rocky Mountain PBS
Catherine Long’s grandfather, J.D. Long, started the business. He arrived in Colorado in 1898, a victim of tuberculosis.
“Nobody had any cure for tuberculosis, but they did know anecdotally, if people came to a drier climate, they had a much better chance of survival,” said Catherine Long.
In 1905, J.D. Long purchased a variety store in downtown Boulder called Noah’s Ark. He set about expanding the store’s seed department.
Eleven years later, J.D. Long bought a farm north of town to propagate seeds for the business. He and his wife grew irises, gladiolus, dahlias and peonies, among other flowers and vegetables. After J.D. Long’s son, Everett, took over the business, Long’s Gardens transitioned to primarily grow irises because they required less water.
As Boulder’s development expanded, Long’s Gardens adapted from farm to urban farm.
New neighbors didn’t always understand what it meant to live next to a working farm.
“They may not think that getting up at the crack of dawn and running a tractor by their houses is a great thing, or they may not like having manure spread on the field,” said Long.
Today Long’s Gardens is open to the public during the seasonal bloom, from late April through early June. The business offers a u-dig section, where customers can pick their own irises to transplant. Later in the season, Long’s Gardens mails irises to customers throughout the United States.
Cathi Edmund of Evergreen, Colorado visited Long’s Gardens at the end of May. She bought five types of iris, including one called “unpretentious” and another called “baby tears.” Living in Evergreen is hard on plants, said Edmund, 73, but she’s optimistic her new flowers will weather the harsh winters and short growing season.
“You can get a catalog and look at the pretty pictures, but here you get your hands in the dirt and dig your own. That's just kind of fun,” said Edmund. She visited Long’s Gardens for the first time ten years ago.
Iris require some moisture in the spring to bloom, but are drought resilient.
“You'll see them popping out of the medians, through the asphalt and everything. They're incredibly hardy,” said Long
Beth Martin, 48, started working at Long’s Gardens 15 years ago. In May, her primary job is weeding between the rows of iris. She uses a scuffle hoe that allows her to claw weeds out of the soil without bending over.
Martin said the farm helps to cool the city and gives wildlife a place to rest.
“It doesn't need to be just building after apartment building,” said Martin, who lives in Nederland.
Research shows that large urban green spaces can reduce temperatures between one to two degrees Celsius, and the benefits extend beyond the perimeter of green space.
Long’s Gardens welcomes visitors during the bloom, but during the rest of the year, it can be difficult to maintain a sense of privacy.
“People see anything that is open and they think, oh, it's public,” said Long.
Despite occasional intrusions, Long sees her farm as a stepping stone towards the type of world she wants to inhabit.
“People will come and say, ‘I just love being here because I feel really calm and I sort of slow down when I'm here,’” said Long. You realize “you're doing something good just by being here.”
In 2021, the Longs placed a conservation easement on their property that will ensure it exists for agriculture in perpetuity. She hopes the conservation easement will protect the work of nonprofit tenants, like Growing Gardens and the Goat Dairy, on the property.
“I'm proud of the fact that we managed to hang in there long enough for people to realize that it makes sense to have a farm in the city,” said Long.
Type of story: News
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
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