About Wooden Shoe
Wooden Shoe History
Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm has been a cherished part of our family’s story for generations. Founded with a passion for growing tulips, we’ve expanded over the years to share our love of flowers, family, and farm life with visitors from near and far.
In 1974, we started growing tulips for Dr. Clyde Holman from Indiana. He had grown tulips in the beautiful Willamette Valley for decades because of our perfect climate. Our season is about two weeks ahead of Holland’s and by growing the tulips here, he could force the tulips to bloom for the Christmas season.
When he retired in 1980, the farm bought his bulb stock and went into the wholesale bulb business. It was a very competitive market with thin margins so wanting to help the farm, the sisters (Barb & Karen) and sisters-in-law started a small retail mail order company called Wooden Shoe Bulb Company to sell direct to the public.
This had limited success until we opened the field to the public in 1985 to sell bulbs and cut flowers.
People came, and over the years, more people came to enjoy the beauty.
We now attract people from all across the country and all over the world who want to experience the beauty of the Willamette Valley.
1974
We started growing tulips under contract for Dr. Clyde Holman, a flower producer from Indiana intended for East Coast flower sales.
1980
Iverson Brothers Bulb Farm was founded when they purchased the tulip bulb stock from Dr. Clyde Holman when he retired.
1983
Wooden Shoe Bulb Company was founded by sisters and wives of the Iverson family to sell the tulips bulbs grown by the family direct to consumers.
1985
Wooden Shoe Bulb Company opened the tulip fields to the public to increase flower and bulb sales direct to their customers.
1990s
We continued opening the fields every Spring, with a focus on bulb and fresh flower sales, also expanding our potted tulip sales.
2002
A drop in bulb and flower sales forced us to evaluate our options to stay open. Our farm needed the revenue from the flowers to cover our costs and Wooden Shoe needed the flowers in the field for our visitors. The decision was made to start charging to cover our costs.
2020
Festival closed due to COVID-19. We had thousands of potted tulips that were going to go to waste. We offered flower delivery to senior homes to cover our potted tulip costs. Thank you to those that supported us. This helped through this difficult year.
2021 – present
After cancelling the 2020 festival, we started selling admission tickets online to assist in traffic management and limit the number of visitors. This has allowed for a better experience on the farm. In 2024, we added summer flowers on the farm.