The Mission of the Dahlia

How the Dahlia Became an Object Lesson in the Possibilities of Plant Life

The original texts by J. J. Broomall are in the public domain. Compilation, editorial notes, introduction, biography, and revised text copyright © 2026 by Steve K. Lloyd. All rights reserved.

J. J. Broomall published The Mission of the Dahlia at least twice, in 1923 and 1926. The later version retains the central idea of the earlier one: the dahlia matters not only as an ornamental flower, but as an “object lesson” in the possibilities of improving plant life for human benefit. Beyond that common foundation, however, the two versions move in notably different directions.

In 1923 Broomall begins with the extraordinary development and popularity of the dahlia, then broadens his argument into a philosophy of nature education. Plant culture, he argues, should be taught in the public schools by teachers who understand it. Knowledge of plants should extend to the insects and other living things connected with them. A more nature-loving people would gain not only better flowers, fruits, and vegetables, but moral and physical benefits as well. The essay ends at the personal level: cultivating plants with one’s own hands and living close to nature are part of the healthier and happier life to which the dahlia can lead.

These ideas had deeper roots in Broomall’s writing. As early as 1911 he had argued for practical gardening in the public schools and for a greater understanding of plants as the foundation of human subsistence. The 1923 Mission carries that educational argument into a specifically dahlia-centered statement.

By 1926 the same “mission” has been redirected. The public-school and nature-study discussion disappears, while agricultural experiment, food production, population, and technological possibility move to the foreground. Broomall describes food-producing plants as machines for extracting human nourishment from the earth, calls Southern California the “Hybridist’s Paradise,” proposes a major horticultural experiment station, and predicts discoveries capable of making the earth vastly more productive. The dahlia remains the object lesson, but the lesson now points toward large-scale improvement of useful plants and the future welfare of humanity.

The 1926 essay is therefore not simply a longer or more polished replacement for the 1923 version. Each preserves substantial material absent from the other, and together they show Broomall developing the same underlying conviction in two different directions. Both are presented here as distinct dated states of the work rather than combined into a synthetic text.

J. J. BROOMALL

Originally published October 4, 1923 in Eagle Rock Sentinel

The evolution of the Dahlia since 1882, and especially during the last ten years, is one of the most marvelous achievements of plant cultivation and improvement. No flower at the present time has such a worldwide and ever-increasing popularity.

Hundreds of Dahlia Societies have been and are being formed, and from Florida to Alberta, Exhibitions in which the Dahlia is the only flower shown are giving the Public an opportunity to see the wonderful variations of form and color that have been produced.

I cannot agree with some who think the Dahlia has reached the zenith of its popularity. Judging from 25 years’ experience in growing the greatest of all garden flowers, I am convinced that the improvement of the Dahlia has only fairly begun.

The perfect Dahlia is yet a long way off, for as the flower improves in size, beauty, perfection of form and habit, the standard of judging it will be raised. We have Dahlias now that might a few years ago have scored a possible 100 points, but today we can see defects in the color, form, or habit that show the necessity for still further breeding and selecting in order to obtain flowers free from such faults.

While the improved forms of the Dahlia are giving pleasure and delight and adding to the happiness of millions of people, I believe that the Dahlia has a much greater mission in serving as an object lesson to the people of the immeasurable possibilities in the improvement of nearly all plants, economic as well as ornamental.

When we know that plant life is the very foundation of ALL LIFE; when we know that the only limit to the possible improvement of plants is our knowledge of them; when the culture of plants is taught in the public schools by TEACHERS WHO KNOW WHAT THEY ARE TEACHING; when the general public becomes interested in plants, and in nature, for all nature is akin, and it is just as essential to understand the insect that sips the nectar from the open flower as it is to understand the plant that provides the food for it; when we shall become a nature-loving people, understanding every living thing about us and its relation to our physical well-being, then we shall have more beautiful flowers, more luscious fruits, more nutritious vegetables than we have ever dreamed of, and we will profit morally as well as physically, for the student of nature will enter a field as fascinating as it is inexhaustible.

The development of the Dahlia should awaken you to the wonderful possibilities of plant life and the importance of knowing nature. It will have performed a mission that will be of untold benefit to the human race.

It may interest you to learn that Eagle Rock Dahlias are still in the lead. Dahlias originated at Eagle Rock have won first prize at San Francisco, at the Los Angeles show, and various other places. Mr. H. P. Whitmarsh writes from the far-off Philippines that he improved 150 varieties from different parts of the world, that the California Dahlias far surpassed all others, and Eagle Rock Dahlias pleased him most of all.

New varieties are shown here today that have not been exhibited before. Some people think it is necessary to send to New York or Paris to obtain the finest gowns, but they must come to Eagle Rock to see the

I will again reiterate the importance of good culture and a thorough understanding of the needs of the plants. The finest flower in the world will be a disappointment if it is not properly treated, and I would urge you to tend your plants with your own hands. Don’t be afraid of soiling your hands. Some people think hands were made for ornaments, but many years’ experience has convinced me that they were made for use.

If you would enjoy life in all its fullness, live close to nature. To lead you to this and to a healthier and happier life is the mission of the Dahlia.

J. J. BROOMALL

Originally published December 17, 1926 in Eagle Rock Sentinel

The improved varieties of the Dahlia are adding to the pleasure and happiness of millions of people, but what in my opinion is far more important than the transformation that has been wrought in this wonderful flower by the industry of man is the fact that it serves as an object lesson in what can be accomplished in the improvement of many other plants, economic as well as ornamental.

The importance of a better understanding of plant life cannot be overestimated. Plant Life is the basis of All life; without plants we could not exist. The little experience I have had in the cultivation of plants leads me to believe that the Only Limit To The Possible Improvement of Plants Is Our Knowledge of Them.

Attempts have been made by scientists to extract our nourishment directly from the Earth by scientific process, but I feel quite certain that the machine will never be invented that will do the work as cheaply and as satisfactorily as plants will do it. Therefore it is to our best interests to learn all we can about them, in order that we may make of each food-producing plant a more efficient machine for extracting our nourishment from Mother Earth.

The success of the writer in plant improvement has been made possible by our incomparable climate, which has given him a great advantage over his rivals on the Atlantic Coast and in Europe.

Southern California is the Hybridist’s Paradise. Here should be located the World’s Greatest Horticultural Experiment Station, where experiments in every branch of Horticulture and Agriculture might be successfully carried on. The expenditure by the National Government of a fraction of the cost of a First Class Battleship for the establishment and maintenance of such a station would result in immeasurable benefit, not only to California but to the Whole Human Race now and in the centuries yet to come.

We are on the eve of great discoveries that will eventually make the Earth hundreds of times more productive than it is by our present crude methods. I have proven that it is possible to germinate seeds within 24 hours after planting that usually have required from one to four weeks or even longer to obtain the same results.

A material has been invented and ere long will be in general use that is a substitute for glass, that is perfectly transparent, flexible and unbreakable, that will be used eventually to cover large tracts of land, thereby making possible the production of many valuable food crops that cannot be successfully grown here under present conditions.

Not one acre in a thousand is now being worked to anything like its possible capacity for food production. The Earth is capable of supporting many times its present population in comfort and luxury.

The Pacific Coast is destined to be the most thickly populated country in America if not in the world. It is our duty to do all we can to improve the productivity of the soil so that the millions to come may not lack in the comforts and luxuries of life.

To make this possible, to make this a more prosperous and beautiful place in which to live, to awaken a greater interest in All plant life, and to add to the welfare and happiness of mankind, I believe to be the Mission of the Dahlia.

1. Incomplete sentence in the 1923 text. The sentence ending “but they must come to Eagle Rock to see the” is incomplete in the original newspaper text. No missing words have been supplied editorially.

2. The 1926 twenty-four-hour germination claim. Broomall states here that he had demonstrated germination within twenty-four hours, but this version of The Mission of the Dahlia does not identify the seed, method, or circumstances of the experiment. His later essay Growing Plants by Electricity describes a twenty-four-hour germination result obtained during electrical experimentation. The surviving evidence does not establish that the two statements refer to the same experiment.