Starting a business is not easy, but it’s even harder when you don’t have a space to operate from. Marisa Mender-Franklin wanted to start her own business growing and selling her own flowers, but was lacking a space. That’s when she got creative.
Mender-Franklin decided to post in her local “Buy Nothing Group” to see if anyone would be willing to allow her to borrow their yard. She got the idea after seeing how quickly one mom was able to get her son a French horn for band. But posting about wanting to borrow part of a stranger’s yard to start a business felt different and made her nervous.
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The flower shop owner shares how the whole thing unfolded on the company’s Instagram page, Midtown Bramble, for the shop’s anniversary. “So five years ago today, I posted on my local buy nothing group, asking if anyone would let me grow flowers in their yards,” she shares. “Because I had this dream of being a flower farmer and owning an urban flower farm, but I didn’t own any land. Didn’t have a path to owning any land.”
She explains that her post in the group disclosed that she was an elementary school art teacher and that she would be a good tenant. But after she posted, she got so nervous that she needed to take a walk to release some energy. She didn’t expect the response. Over 40 people responded within a week, offering space in their yards for her to grow flowers in exchange for weekly bouquets.
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“It was the middle of January, and in Memphis, the growing season starts April 1st, like you plant out April 1st,” Mender-Franklin explains. “So I had less than three months to build a farm. So, I very quickly went and evaluated all of these plots and started building the farm, and sold bouquet subscriptions because I needed to fund this in some way other than my credit card.”
According to Mender-Franklin, people pre-purchased bouquet subscriptions before she had even planted flowers. It quickly turned into a community effort with neighbors collecting cardboard for the garden beds, some donating vases, and others volunteering to weed and plant. What started as someone with a dream taking a social risk turned into a beautiful show of community support.
It’s been five years since the flower farmer bravely asked to borrow people’s yards. Now, Midtown Bramble has a storefront and several employees. The farm is operated out of nine yards and provides workshops, weddings, and events.
Mender-Franklin says, “It’s been a wild ride. I always tell people we run on community. Well, community and La Croix, and an unhinged belief in our ability to figure it out, I suppose.”
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This story was something people needed to hear. One person commented, “This is exactly the kind of thing I needed to see today! You are so inspiring, thank you for sharing!”
Another community-supported business owner shared, “This is amazing 🙂 people are so good. I am a beekeeper and I live in a 700sqft apt. All on others land who just let us keep out bees there.”
“I love this story soooo much!! Everyone wins! Your neighbours get pretty gardens, the bees get flowers and you get your flower shop,” someone else chimed in.
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“Wow! Thank you for being such an inspiration and for having the courage to risk your vulnerability and ask and lean into community. This is literally the thing I needed to see to help me shift my energy,” another person offered.
One commenter gushed, “This is the best thing I’ve heard in a long time! So happy for you and for your community!!!!”
Someone else found courage after hearing the story, writing, “Thank you for this video!! It gave me the courage to ask a neighbor to garden her yard this week, and she said yes! I’m so excited to get started!”
