Welcome to Tha Flower Factory: Vacant East Baltimore lot blossoms into something beautiful

BALTIMORE (WBFF) – Welcome to Tha Flower Factory. It’s the brainchild of Walker Marsh, a former Civic Works AmeriCorps member, who submitted a winning idea in Baltimore City’s Growing Green Design Competition. Armed with a $63,800 award, Walker embarked on a journey to rehab a vacant lot in East Baltimore, transforming the space into a half-acre flower farm.

Unveiled last weekend by Civic Works, Walker’s project is in collaboration with the Baltimore City Office of Sustainability and Department of Public Works, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Chesapeake Bay Trust. Tha Flower Farm will be in full production during the spring, summer and fall months, while a rain garden and evergreens will add aesthetic beauty to the Broadway East neighborhood year-round. Walker’s idea represents a creative way of thinking about supporting urban agriculture, eliminating blight, reducing stormwater runoff, lowering lead levels, adding a community resource, providing job training and beautifying the city. Pay a visit at 1400 N. Gay St. and see, touch, and smell for yourself.

Here, Walker talks to FOX45’s Zoe Zellers about his plans for the future and hope for Baltimore because, as he puts it, “no matter what or where you come from, you can bloom and blossom.”

1. Where did the idea for Tha Flower Farm come from and was there an “a-ha” moment?

The idea for Tha Flower Factory came from an “a-ha moment” while working at Civic Works’ Real Food Farm. While working there I noticed the reaction people had to seeing a farm in urban environments and how it affected them and also how it changed me once I became a farmer. I wanted to create a space of change and hope for communities that are often labeled bad or rough and do not offer folks the opportunity to grow.

Read the full article here: http://foxbaltimore.com/news/local/welcome-to-tha-flower-factory-vacant-east-baltimore-lot-blossoms-into-something-beautiful