SLOW FLOWERS Podcast: Cynthia Alexander left behind her Texas law practice to become a flower farmer (Episode 113)

Summary:   You could call Cynthia Alexander, a "chapter two" flower farmer. A passionate gardener, Cynthia has spent the past several years reinventing herself from a real estate attorney into someone whose relationship with land is exemplified in a completely different way!  Over the past few years, Cynthia and her husband Bob have been transitioning from the city to the land. Quarry Flower Farm, their 120-acre farm, is located in Celina, Texas, about 40 minutes outside of the Dallas-Ft. Worth urban center.  Earlier this month, I traveled to the Ft. Worth Garden Club to lecture about the “Slow Flowers” movement and to lead a workshop for members of the Garden Club’s floral design group. This was my second visit to the Dallas Ft-Worth area to talk about LOCAL flowers and in both cases, my “credibility” was enhanced thanks to Cynthia. She is a native Texan whose goal is spreading beauty through organic agriculture and the practice of good land stewardship.  Her repertoire of ingredients is impressive! At Quarry Flower Farm, Cynthia grows native Texas shrubs and trees, as well as perennials, annuals, grasses, bulbs, vines and herbs. Her fascination with botanical elements means she has an incredibly diverse list of ingredients for floral fans, everyone from hot floral designers to farm-to-table caterers. Here is the extensive list of flowers, foliage, herbs, branches and ornamental grasses she provided for the Ft. Worth workshop:  Amaranthus 'Red Hopi' Artemisia  Aster Beautyberry Black Bamboo Bois D'Arc apples Broomcorn Cardoon Celosia  Chinaberry foliage, yellow berry Cotinus Cotton Bolls Crepe Myrtle Dianthus Elm Winged branches Garden Roses Geranium scented Gomphrena 'Fireworks' Hibiscus 'Jamaican Red' Juniper silver berry Lambs ears Lantana  Liatris Love In A Puff vine, pod Magnolia Marigold Myrtle branches Peppers Perilla green Persimmon branches Pittosporum  Poke Privet  Purple Hyacinth Bean pods Pyracantha orange berry Rattanvine Rosehips Rush Sage Salvia Leucantha Sansieveria  Sedum  Sunflower Maximillian Tritonia Vinca  Yellow wildflower Zinnia    Cynthia first came to my rescue in February 2012 when I taught an eco-floral design course at the Dallas Arboretum. I had contacted her through the ASCFG directory, asking for help. Cynthia showed up with a bevy of flowering bulb varieties and spring branches – much to the delight of the Dallas floral design students. After all, it was FEBRUARY, for goodness sake’s. She saved the day! The same thing happened when I encouraged the Ft. Worth Garden Club to source LOCAL Texas leaves, branches and flowers from a real flower farmer. Cynthia is a gem. And you’ll find her personal story fascinating. I mean really….how many people leave a successful, 30-year career as an attorney in order to dig in the dirt and grow cut flowers? For that reason alone, I adore this gifted woman. Enjoy our conversation and listen for all of Cynthia’s advice about her second career – as a cut flower farmer.  In addition to the flower fields at Quarry Flower Farm, Cynthia and Bob cherish their unique location and beautiful pond (a former gravel quarry). They nurture a native habitat that attracts many birds, butterflies and critters.  They have used green-building practices, sourcing materials from an English-style oak timber-frame barn (circa 1835), from the Mohawk Valley in New York, which they have re-erected beside the quarry pond.    Cynthia hosts garden club tours, bridal parties and U-pick guests by appointment during the spring growing season. Check her web site for details. Other Resources mentioned in our interview: The Flower Farmer: An Organic Grower's Guide to Raising and Selling Cut Flowers (Chelsea Green Publishing, 2008), by Lynn Byczynski  Cynthia mentioned that her inspiration began by spending time with Pamela and Frank Arnosky, owners of Texas Specialty Cut Flowers.