How one gardener's neighbors shared their land to help her start a
flower business
[August 18, 2026] By
JESSICA DAMIANO
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.
That's because members of her local Facebook Buy Nothing group shared
their unused yards and gardens with her, allowing her to achieve her
dream of owning a flower shop and working as an urban flower farmer.
“None of this would be possible without an immensely supportive
community,” she said.
Her post read, ‘Flowers in need of a garden’
In 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Mender-Franklin was a
teacher planning her wedding.
"I thought it would be fun to grow and design my own wedding flowers,”
she said. So, the lifelong gardener planted “every square inch” of the
tiny yard in front of her rental home with seeds and added pots along
the walkway and on the porch.
The experience fortified her lifelong dream of working with flowers, she
said, “but I didn’t own land or have a path to owning land.”
As a member of the Buy Nothing group, she had noticed members offering
unwanted furniture, household goods and other items free to people who
needed them.
“Somebody once posted looking for a French horn for their kid, and
within six hours, they had one,” she said. “If the group can do that,”
she reasoned, “then certainly there’s someone who has a garden they
can’t use and would let me grow flowers there.”
In her post, she expressed her desire to grow and sell flowers, and
promised to be a good tenant and provide the owner with weekly bouquets.
“Within 5 minutes, my phone started pinging like crazy,” she said.
Within a week, she had received 40 offers of free places to grow
flowers.
That first year, 2021, Mender-Franklin selected four plots. Members of
the online group began dropping off cardboard and vases on her porch.
"People even volunteered to help weed or plant,” she said.
Today, she runs her flower business full-time. She owns the Midtown
Bramble and Bloom flower shop, oversees the nine farm plots of various
sizes and employs 10 people. Last year, the business held 57 workshops,
and provided flower arrangements for 44 weddings and large events.
The inspiration was a Canadian flower gardener
Mender-Franklin said she knows of similar land-share situations in other
cities. She was inspired by the example of Sarah Nixon, who, from 2001
to 2021, planted flowers in neighbors’ yards in Toronto and sold weekly
flower-bucket and arrangement subscriptions. Nixon also sold flowers at
farmers’ markets and a specialty grocery store, and provided flowers for
weddings.
She started her business, My Luscious Backyard, the analog way, by
leaving letters of introduction in neighbor’s mailboxes that proposed
the barter of land use in exchange for upkeep of their gardens.
“I was obsessed with growing flowers for my own enjoyment, and my own
backyard was full,” said Nixon. “But I noticed some of my neighbors
begrudgingly mowing their lawns and not seeming to use their
properties.”
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Midtown Bramble & Bloom staff, from left, Courtney Sanderson, Chase
Baltz, Marisa Mender-Franklin and Mary Carnes pose with flowers
gathered at a crowdsourced garden plot on Thursday, July 23, 2026 in
Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/Kristin M. Hall)
 The arrangements can be mutually
beneficial
In Memphis, Mender-Franklin’s team transformed the lawns and
neglected gardens into beds and rows of flowers. Along with the
bouquets and other perks, the homeowners are able to enjoy flower
gardens without the responsibility of maintaining them.
The agreements are formalized with leases that spell out everything
from boundaries to water costs.
Karen Golightly, who owns one of Mender-Franklin’s original plots,
said she didn't hesitate when she saw the post on the Buy Nothing
group. The weekly bouquets she receives are lovely, she said, “but
the biggest benefit is that it created a community for me."
“We have a garden walk in the neighborhood, and I’ve come to know
other neighbors and gardeners that I wouldn’t otherwise know. And,
of course, there’s Marisa’s staff and Marisa, as well,” Golightly
said.
One of the first plots that Mender-Franklin worked on came with no
water source, she said. She offered to pay the homeowner next door
to run a water line over from his faucet, and he, a gardener, set it
up for her.
“People like to help make dreams come true. It’s that feeling of
connection that we all really need," she said. “So often when we
talk about community, we view it in terms of helping other people.
And we forget that being part of an equal community means that you
also have to ask for help.”
To give back, Mender-Franklin launched the Flowers for Good program,
which donates flowers to local organizations, schools and charities.
Her shop has a free seed library for vegetables and native
wildflowers.
“It’s such a gift to the community to have their land turned into a
farm," said Nixon. "And all the pollinators, birds and wildlife
change the area."
“It’s also a lot of work,” she added.
Mender-Franklin knows that to be true. “We run on community,” she
said. “Well, community and LaCroix and an unhinged belief in our
ability to figure it out.”
How you can start a land-sharing network
If your flowers or vegetables are in search of a garden, these
online resources can help:
Regional and local gardening groups and buy-nothing groups on social
media can link neighbors willing to share tools, harvests or garden
beds.
Matchmaking services such as Shared Earth and My Gardens Spot
connect those seeking land on which to farm or garden with
landowners seeking to share property.
___
Kristin M. Hall contributed to this story from Memphis, Tennessee.
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