Kristine Albrecht

In 2006, Kristine reclaimed a suburban quarter-acre in Santa Cruz, California, that had been weed-choked and fallow for years. She fed the soil and eventually planted over 2,600 dahlias. Kristine's focus and passion are on hybridizing new dahlia varieties. What makes her unique is the cultivars she has created, which feature complex colors and multiple forms, and are favorites among florists and designers. She also hybridizes new varieties that meet the rigid standards of the American Dahlia Society. She is vice-president of the Monterey Bay Dahlia Society and travels to local dahlia shows with her blooms. 

All of Kristine's dahlia varieties start with the prefix KA's because those are her initials. In 2014, she won the Best Small Bloom award at the National Show, the Derrill Hart Award, and the Lynn P. Dudley Award for her cultivar, KA's® Cloud. She won the Derrill Hart Award again in 2018 for her cultivar KA's® Khaleesi, in 2021 for KA's® Papa John, and in 2025 for KA's® Tiny E  In 2012, 2016 & 2019, Kristine grew the largest dahlia shown in the U.S. In 2023, Kristine won the prestigious Stanley Johnson Medal for KA's® Kahleesi. This award is given to a single breeder each year whose cultivar won the greatest number of blue or higher ribbons across the US in a given year. This was the first time a California breeder had won the Johnson Medal. In 2024, Kristine's KA's® Khaleesi won the prestigious Les Connell Medal, awarded to the cultivar with the most total awards in the first five years since introduction. 

Brion Sprinsock (Kristine's husband)

Brion and Kristine met in high school on a backpacking trip to Yosemite National Park. Brion is a photographer, writer, and builder. His primary role at the dahlia farm is as a builder, photographer, and, when a book is in the works, writer, designer, and editor. He maintains an Instagram account that explores “behind the scenes” at Kristine’s farm at @dahliasplease. His mother says that his first word was “flower.”

Jan Palia

Our Farm would not be what it is today without the help of farmer Jan. She lends her artistic eye and talents to most of the farm's arrangements and bouquets, which are beautiful. In addition to arranging for the farm, her arrangements win awards each year at the local and Bay Area dahlia shows. She is also a stalwart worker when it comes to digging, washing, and dividing the farm's tubers. Jan grows the smallest dahlias in her garden, the mignon singles.