n LOUDOUN
Pg. 4 | n LEESBURG
VOL. 7, NO. 43
Pg. 8 | n EDUCATION
Pg. 10 | n OBITUARIES
Pg. 23 | n PUBLIC NOTICES
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Four Generations Reflect on Loudoun’s Local Flower Renaissance
Pg. 28
SEPTEMBER 15, 2022
Supervisors Buy 17 Acres Along Goose Creek for Linear Park Connection
BY DANA ARMSTRONG darmstrong@getoutloudoun.com
BY RENSS GREENE
rgreene@loudounnow.com
Rural Loudoun County may be known for its vineyards and breweries, but another industry is blossoming in the countryside: flower farms. The entrepreneurs leading the growing sector aren’t just blending agriculture and artistry, but also promoting a more sustainable business model in the once import-dominated business.
much of what we purchase from other countries. It is very cookie cutter, and so much of the uniqueness of each stem is
The Board of Supervisors last week voted to buy 17 acres along Goose Creek near the Sycolin Road bridge, across from the True North data center complex, at more than twice its appraised value. The land is envisioned as part of the Goose Creek Linear Stream Valley Park Trail, part of the network of linear parks and trails planned across the county, dubbed “Emerald Ribbons” by Loudoun County Preservation and Conservation Coalition, which proposed it. But supervisors were divided over the price tag, which is close to double their first offer and comes with five acres less. The county this year assessed the land tract, totaling 22 acres, at a market value of just over $3.5 million, with taxable value of under $750,000. Much of the land is in the river flood plain. According to a county staff report, the county first made an offer based on an appraisal of $4.5 million, then $6.3 million after looking at the property’s development potential under the 2019 comprehensive plan, then $7.25 million, all rejected. The property
FLOWER POWER continues on page 38
LINEAR PARK continues on page 37
Hope Flower Farm Celebrates Dahlias Holly Heider Chapple is a wedding and event floral designer with over 25 years of experience. She grew up in Lovettsville with her parents, Albert and Sheila Heider. They maintained Heider Nursery (later sold to Meadows Farms Nursery) with 100 acres of bushes, shrubs, and Christmas trees used for landscaping. As a kid, Chapple hated her daily chores at Heider Nursery. But once she started cutting and designing her parents’ bushes and shrubs into arrangements, she fell head over heels into floral design. Her career began at 22 and has led her to teach floral design workshops in New York, London, China, and Russia. She enjoyed the creativity and flexibility of the job, using it as a means to raise her seven children with her late husband Evan Chapple. Despite Chapple’s world-renowned
Dana Armstrong/Loudoun Now
Hope Flower Farm owner Holly Heider Chapple has taught floral design around the world, and said the best blooms come from her own backyard.
status in the floral industry, she is convinced that the best blooms come from her backyard. “Farm fresh flowers are more unique, elegant, and have nuances. They don’t look like they’re manufactured like so
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