Located at 80-225 CA-111, Indio, CA 92201

I have visited Shields Date Garden and the merchandise store several times but never the garden. Previously, they have charged to visit the garden but now there is no admission fee to walk the grounds. Shields turns 100 in 2024.

It first opened on Christmas Day in 1924 by Floyd and Bess Shields from Des Moines, Iowa. They were one of the first date farmers in the Coachella Valley. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) have been importing date trees since 1921 in a effort to start date farms in the Coachella Valley due to its suitable growing temperatures, the dry desert heat, and the availability of the Colorado River to flood and irrigate crops. The Shields decided to become one of the date farmers and were successful with the crop. People began to hear about Floyd’s presentations on the “Romance and Sex Lives of Dates” and along with the infamous date shake, Shields Date Garden became quite a tourist spot.

While the title of Shields’ presentation sounds scillating, the actuality is that the science behind the date is complex. It takes about 15 years for a date tree to fully mature. For the trees to produce the date fruit and have a reliable crop, they must all be hand pollinated, using male pollen fronds to pollinate the female trees. Once the fruit matures, each date is picked by hand from the bunch. However, not all of the fruit on each bunch ripens at the same time so pickers will have to go back and check each bunch on each tree as the fruit ripens.

To my taste, I have found the dates at Shields to be fresher tasting. An employee reports that what they have out on the merchandise floor is all the dates they have available as they pick and package fresh. Shields also has two varieties that Floyd Shields hybridized and is only available at this farm, the “Blondie” and the “Brunette.” Another item that this farm sells is a crystalline version of the date called “date sugar” that can be used in cooking such as making the date shake. And for baking in any number of cookie, bread, recipes as the date sugar is known not to spike your sugar level the way processed sugar can.

After learning about how the palm tree produces its fruit, you have a better appreciation for these trees during your garden walk. The garden walk is fully paved and is accessible for those with mobility issues. In 2011, the garden received a gift of 23 biblical statues from a couple who wanted to relocate their statues and who were Shields Date Garden enthusiasts. These statues were incorporated into a garden layout and opened in 2013.

I was pleased to see that the biblical garden statues do not overtly expose you to a religious message but tells the story of Jesus. You can walk among these statues as if you’re walking through a garden with garden statues that happen to be from the Bible.

Amongst the statues and is more understated are many varieties of fruit and citrus trees. They include: Lisbon lemon, Ruby Red grapefruit, Minneola tangelos, Meyer lemon, Dancy tangerine, Mexican lime, guava, Oro Blanco grapefruit, and fig trees. The trees are all labeled clearly. I purchased a lemon and it was one of the juiciest lemons I have come across. They also planted trees that are adaptive to the desert include palo verde, coastal live oaks, bottle trees, and fruitless olive.

The statues and the fruit trees serve your eye level as the date palm trees stand high. The leaves make a pleasant brushing sound in the wind and serve as shade. There are many examples of palm trees with extension ladders attached to the trees. As the trees grow high, the fixed ladders onto the trees are more sturdy for the workers to pick the trees.

There are benches, pergolas, and picturesque stone walls throughout the garden. There are also small ponds at the grounds giving the area much needed humidity. The garden serves as a lovely oasis for birds and wildlife such as rabbits who live in burrowed holes at the farm would hop over to a small grassy area of the garden as their feeding area.

Shields Date Garden is a fun tourist stop to purchase some fresh dates and other date related merchandise, to watch their video on “Romance and Sex Lives of Dates” or to enjoy a date shake as you walk in the garden.

Website: Shields Date Garden.