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-Photo by Hans Madsen
Roger and Polly Hayes look over their crop of mums recently. The plants, in various colors, will be available in the fall at Polly’s Garden Center in Stanhope.
STANHOPE – Polly Hayes, the owner of Polly’s Garden Center in Stanhope, had been looking at the site for several years before she was able to open in April 2020.
The master gardener and former library director in Stanhope, kind of got surprised with it when her husband, Roger Hayes Jr., came home one day with an announcement.
“Hey I bought the garden center,” he told her.
While she owns and runs the garden center, he retails his finely crafted custom signs, rustic American flags, wood plaques and wood burning art there as Hayes Woodcrafting.
In addition to flowers and other plants sourced from within Iowa, she also offers seasonal fruits and vegetables that are sourced close to home.
The summer season’s offerings are from Watered Garden Produce, owned by Robert and Brianna Johnson, of Stanhope. The fall selection is from Steve Carlson’s gardens, also located in Stanhope.
They like the idea of being able to pay it forward and help out the local economy.
“It gives us something else to sell,” she said. “It adds to the season.”
Their location on Parker Street is pretty visible; once out of the city limits it’s Iowa Highway 17.
“The trucks come by and beep their horns,” she said smiling before her words were drowned out by a large piece of farm equipment being driven through town.
It also features an open air sales area. Behind it is a small fenced area where she grows seedlings and transfers plants into pots. It’s her own little secret garden.
Her husband has found success selling his hand-crafted woodwork.
“People will say ‘I like that sign, can you make it for me?’” he said. “Not all of it is patriotic.”
“Roger’s work is out the door faster than he can put it up,” she said proudly. “It’s a good problem to have.”
While she retired, he’s still in the workforce. The couple said the garden center and woodwork will keep them busy once they’re both retired.
“We’ll be busier after retirement,” he said. “I don’t want to sit around and do nothing.”
He’s already working on that “busy” part. He’s currently installing light transparent doors that will let the interior be enclosed during colder weather but still retain the open air feeling that the sales area has now.
There’s also a couple of chairs for customers.
“I have a lot of people just stop to visit,” she said. “We just have fun; that’s what it’s all about.”
For customers, there’s a little bonus when they check out, too. A life-sized butterfly on a stick that can be placed in a potted plant.
“People spend more time picking out a free butterfly than they do picking out their plants,” she said.
In addition to the plants and woodwork, Polly’s also has greeting cards by Stanhope artist Jill Sneed for sale. One of them features the town’s old depot and the sales of that card help support the effort to move the depot back into town and restore the building.
The Hayes’ take the idea of being green seriously; it’s not just the plants.
Except for their water service, “this whole business is off the grid,” he said.
Electricity is provided by solar panels and two wind turbines. They charge up batteries that then supply a converter to run the cash register and some of the lights.
“Roger even has a battery-operated lawn mower,” she said.
Polly’s is a seasonal business. The spring season ended on July 9 and they’ll reopen for their fall season on Aug. 10.
“With full service,” she said.
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