Shields Date Garden In Coachella Valley Still Ripe With Romance

INDIO, CA — Just off Highway 111 at the gateway to Indio, a giant knight statue points to the historic Shields Date Garden. Though it has changed hands over its nearly 100 years, the property remains as rich in history as the sugary dates grown there are in flavor. Still, it is a kitschy film —“The Romance and Sex Life of the Date” —only shown on the property that remains one of its biggest draws.

As the story goes, Shields Date Farm grew from the sweat equity of newlyweds Floyd and Bess Shields in the early 1920s.

The couple left Long Beach to start a date farm in Indio, following the date-farming fad made famous by Hollywood and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s “explorer” program to find exotic plants to grow in the barren California deserts. That program brought mango, avocado and sweet oranges to the Golden State. Botanists determined that date palm varietals, grown in Baghdad, would be ideal for the Coachella Valley–the American Sahara. Transplanted date palm offshoots flourished in Mecca and other desert cities and were planted on the Shields' property.

“Neither Floyd nor Bess Shields had any farming experience when they arrived,” according to a spokesperson for the garden.

The Shields also learned what types of palms worked best in the climate of the Coachella Valley, but there was much more to growing the plump, sugary fruit than just planting a palm tree.

Though date farms like Shield’s sprang up in numerous small oases across the valley, many have disappeared into the Sahara-like sands of time. Shields perfected the secrets of date farming and grew his property in size and reputation for producing some of the finest dates in California, according to the Greater Palm Springs Visitor’s Bureau.

In the 1950s, he introduced a clever educational talk with a racy name.That slideshow was turned into a short film that is still shown at the property three-quarters of a century later. Shields Date Garden is the only place in the world where you can view the full film: “The Romance and Sex Life of the Date.”

If you stay to watch, you can learn the history of date farming in the Coachella Valley, where land was cheap and aquifer water flowed. You can learn how the Shields joined the date-growing industry bandwagon to make their mark with patented processes. The film remains an in-depth look at the rich history of the date, the life cycle of the succulent fruit, and the unique hands-on pollination process necessary to see each palm produce the most edible crop. Narrated by Floyd Shields, it has been updated but remains largely unchanged since the 1950s. The feature also shows the dedication of the date farmer and the long-term commitment to date farming, as palms often take up to 15 years to reach maturity.

“The Shields knew they had to stand out from the crowd,” filmmaker Adam Duplay shared in a Youtube video about the farm. “That film served to draw attention and promote education on the painstaking process of date cultivation. Those efforts turned into the hybridized Shields Blonde and Brunette Dates, as well as the patented sugared date crystals and date sugar, developed after 18 months of trial and error. Both are sold in the Indio showroom and are available online.”

Floyd Shields died in the 1960s, and his wife Bess died in 1983. Over the next 25 years, the retail store, packing house, and Bess Shields’s once-blooming rose garden fell into disrepair. Acres of still-producing date trees were at risk of being razed by new owners wanting to demolish the trees to build high-density housing, a strip mall and a hospital. It was the Young family, owners of Jewel Dates, who stepped in and revamped the Shields Date Garden into its former glory, according to a report from Visit Greater Palm Springs.

Since then, property upgrades have included renovating the retail store that sells dates, grapefruits, dried fruits and nuts, and unique trinkets. The old-fashioned date shake counter has been revamped. Outside, guests can stroll through a sculpture garden depicting the life of Christ under the shade of tall palm trees.

The restoration brought the original buildings up to code, restored the retail shop, remodeled part of the packing house as a cafe, and created a large dining patio and retail garden shop in the former space of Mrs. Shields’s rose garden.

One thing was sure. They would keep the “little movie with the sexy name” on repeat in its theater, though it was updated with current information about the Greater Palm Springs’ date industry.

Stop for a date shake made with a mix of dates and date crystals when you go. Mixed with vanilla ice cream and milk, it is one of the biggest draws and has been called one of the most “popular beverages in the county.”

The gift shop features obscure delicacies made with property-grown dates of different varieties, including the Deglet Noor, Blonde, Brunette dates, Thoory Dates and Medjool dates.

Learn more about Shields Date Garden and plan your next visit.