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How One Gardener's Neighbors Shared Their Land to Help Her Start a Flower Business
Mender-Franklin runs nine farm plots and employs 10 people after neighbors offered free yards and gardens for her urban flower business.
- Memphis gardener Marisa Mender-Franklin operates Midtown Bramble and Bloom full-time, managing nine flower plots and employing 10 people. Formalized leases convert residential lawns into productive flower beds.
- Mender-Franklin launched the business in 2021 after a Buy Nothing post yielded 40 land offers within one week; she drew inspiration from Sarah Nixon, who operated a similar yard-based model in Toronto from 2001 to 2021.
- Scaling from her 2020 wedding flower preparations, Mender-Franklin now hosts workshops and provides arrangements for events. Last year, the business held 57 workshops and provided floral arrangements for 44 weddings.
- Homeowner Karen Golightly, who hosts one of the original plots, said the arrangement creates social value. "But the biggest benefit is that it created a community for me," Golightly said.
- To support local neighbors, Mender-Franklin launched the Flowers for Good program and a free seed library. These initiatives transform residential spaces into community assets, donating flowers to schools and charities.
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33 Articles
33 Articles
The Toronto Star+4 Reposted by 4 other sources
How one gardener’s neighbors shared their land to help her start a flower business
When Marisa Mender-Franklin walks through any of the nine flower farms she runs in Memphis, Tennessee, her first thoughts are of gratitude. Partly for the flowers and the bees, but mostly for the support of her neighbors.
·Toronto, Canada
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Coverage Details
Total News Sources33
Leaning Left18Leaning Right3Center11Last UpdatedBias Distribution56% Left
Bias Distribution
- 56% of the sources lean Left
56% Left
L 56%
C 35%
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