Corn Wall on Cornwall Project Evolves Over the Years
Ripening fruit of the Peterson Pawpaw tree courtesy of Susan Newell
My husband Gaston and I started the Corn Wall on Cornwall four summers ago as a blight blocker. The vacant lots around our home on the corner of Nottingham and Cornwall were constantly blighted by illegal dumping, so we decided to turn them into a beautiful natural habitat for us and our community to enjoy.
Every day neighbors stop to say they make a point of passing by regularly to see what's new. Yesterday a fella said that it just gets him, the fact that we devote so much love and care into beautifying the street berms and that it's heavenly.
The first year was mainly devoted to clearing berms along three blocks of Cornwall and planting corn, not to eat, but to pull toxins from the soil. Now the berms and lots are filling up with beautiful flowers that attract native pollinators – bees, moths, and butterflies – as well as beneficial insects. This past June Xerxes Society provided us with 176 native pollinator plants from https://www.wildtypeplants.com/ that attract and support them, and we’ve seen so many more birds, butterflies, and bees here this year. Monarch butterflies are especially attracted to our many milkweed plants, and we’re now part of the Monarch Waystation Program.
Three years ago we planted eight Peterson pawpaw trees that some people call the “Michigan banana” because its oval yellowish brown fruit tastes like banana custard. We also planted cherry trees and grape vines from Keep Growing Detroit, another wonderful resource for urban farmers and gardeners. I took Lottie Spady's incredible medicinal plant class from KGD two years ago, where I learned that purslane, in addition to having medicinal properties and making a soft and attractive ground cover, is also edible. If you don’t believe it, just try out this delicious Wild Purslane Salad.
If you stop by, and I hope you will, you’ll see lots of logs in the lot with the Monarch orange frame that will support the screen for family-friendly movies. Those are red oak logs that Gaston is curing before turning them into planters, tables, and seats for movie-goers. We’re planting mini clovers there to make sitting on a blanket on the ground more comfortable.
In the lot next to our house, you’ll also see a metal frame made of old chain link fence tubing and 1920s iron window frames we sourced from the trash to create a greenhouse. Right next to it are foraged and donated glass bottles that will be the greenhouse walls.
If you’d like to get some native plants for your own yard, I’m happy to trade them for some help with weeding. Getting rid of weeds and planting more native perennials is my main focus for the summer. You can reach me at charon.nogues.rad.estate@gmail.com.
