A.J. Boyce, left, and Kobe Richardson work in the Southside Blooms urban flower farm preparing the space for winter on Oct. 22, 2019, in the Englewood neighborhood of Chicago. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune) Hidden behind a car-lined street, and in between a few boarded-up houses on an Englewood block, sits an unassuming pasture of a seemingly neglected city spot of unruly weeds. Walk up closer though, to the sidewalk, then the red gate, and you’ll see deep rows of lively petals slicing through the blight like an autumn-colored rainbow. Chest-high zinnia flowers neatly scatter a once-vacant lot in an ombre of burgundy, burnt orange, marigold and ivory. Three sets of hands chop the plants down to ready the flower farm for winter. Piles of flowers hang over a wagon resting until harvest time. Flowers were a business decision for Quilen Blackwell, who added this flower farm, known as Southside Blooms, as the floral branch to his nonprofit Chicago Eco House to “bring viable industry into the inner city.” He says there’s a high demand for the crop domestically since 80% of flowers are produced overseas, but the plant’s universal representation ― of hope, love, joy — is what Blackwell is all about. The vision for Chicago Eco House, which started in 2014 and aims to alleviate poverty through sustainability, began while Blackwell was tutoring Englewood high schoolers. As he started building relationships with the students and heard their stories and experiences, Blackwell felt a conviction, he said. “I was thinking if I was one of these students, and someone like me was around — who had the means and opportunity — I would hope (that person) would use that to help me out,” Blackwell said. Founder Quilen Blackwell works in the Southside Blooms urban flower farm preparing the […]
Click here to view original web page at www.chicagotribune.com
Travis Rigby is a publisher and entrepreneur focused on growing the floral industry through media, data, and product innovation. With a journalism background from the University of Utah, he founded and led PosterGarden.com for 27 years before transitioning into floral publishing. Today, Travis is the publisher of Florists’ Review, one of the industry’s most historic and influential titles, which he relaunched in 2026 with a focus on rebuilding its audience and transforming it into a modern data-driven platform for advertisers and readers alike. At Florists' Review Media, he oversees a portfolio of floral brands including Florists’ Review, SuperFloral, Canadian Florist, Flora (UK), Australian Florist, and LivingFlowers.com.
