Meet Alex!
Co-Owner of Quince Blossom Ridge
There's something poetic about the growing season of a flower. It blooms when it's ready, stays for a little while, and then gives way to whatever comes next. At Quince Blossom Ridge in Waldorf, Alex is growing flowers with that kind of seasonality in mind, and creating a place where people can slow down long enough to notice it.
The gardening bug began during a demanding chapter of Alex's life. After meeting her husband, Dan, in culinary school, the two built careers in the bakery and restaurant industries. Alex became the co-owner of a Washington, D.C. bakery, where she focused on wedding cakes. It was rewarding work, but it was also a busy way of life. When the pandemic arrived, everything shifted, and Alex found herself drawn more deeply into gardening.
What started at home gradually became a vision for something more - a beautiful place to grow flowers, gather people and create a different kind of space. She completed a beginner farmer training program and leaned on friends in the wedding industry who helped her find her way into flower farming.
At the end of 2021, she and Dan found their land in Waldorf. There was plenty to build. While Alex continued working at the bakery, Dan spent time creating the infrastructure for the farm - flower beds, fencing, irrigation, a pergola and the garden spaces that would become Quince Blossom Ridge. When the bakery closed at the end of 2023, Alex was finally able to devote herself fully to the farm.
Today, the vision is bigger than flowers alone. Quince Blossom Ridge is becoming a place for workshops, garden rooms and gatherings. But the flowers are what draws you in - dahlias, ranunculus, tulips, roses and the ever-changing palette of the seasons.
“When we talk about it being seasonal, it's a flash in the pan kind of moment. It's special,” Alex says. “You're growing something that has a timeline. And there's something to appreciate about life when everything isn't infinite.”
Maybe that is what makes a locally grown bouquet feel so unique. It isn't simply beautiful. It grew in that one particular place where it was cared for from seed to bloom.
“The people who are doing it locally, they're so passionate,” says Alex. “They care so much.”
And you can feel that love and attention in a local bouquet when you bring it home.
Photos courtesy of Quince Blossom Ridge