“The Corn is as High as an Elephant’s Eye” on Cornwall

Sunflowers fills the berms along Cornwall street. Image courtesy of Jim West

Tree stumps are being converted to chairs. Image courtesy of Jim West

The Corn Wall on Cornwall project started a few years ago when my husband Gaston and I decided to stop illegal dumping, which was a big problem around our house on Nottingham. We bought several vacant lots along Cornwall, and slowly we’ve been turning the berms into gardens. This year we built a big raised bed garden on one berm and filled it with flowers like zinnias, sunflowers and of course, corn. Corn is very good for pulling toxins from the soil, and this year the soil is actually good enough that we can eat the corn from one of the berms.

We want the corridor to be a destination place for people to stroll and enjoy the flowers and bees. Probably eight people a day stop by to say how much they enjoy it. We’ve planted a lot of native pollinator perennials like bee balm and borage, which the bees love, so now we’re finally part of the bee superhighway! The only problem with the native perennials is that they spread themselves and are starting to grow in unintended places like sidewalk cracks and curbs. There’s milkweed, for example, growing in one curb.

One of our vacant lots has been filled with large logs and tree stumps we’ve collected and plan to use for various purposes. They needed to be dried out for at least a year before they could be used. This year some of them are ready, and Gaston has stripped the bark and cut them up to create a scalloped edge along the perimeter of one lot. All the ladies love it and want us to do it on their block.

The lot that has the scalloped edge will be an outdoor movie theater. We have a screen and two projectors, so we can start doing movie nights, hopefully by the end of this month. People can bring their own lawn chairs, and Gaston is turning some of the tree stumps into chairs as well. Other projects will be a big wooden swing and a bat house.

Eventually we want the project to extend on both sides between Somerset and Barham. We started the Corn Wall on Cornwall with three goals in mind: to stop illegal dumping, take ownership of city berms and encourage others to do the same, and show that we care about our community. So far it’s working, but keeping the berms maintained and the native pollinator plants under control is a big job, and we can use help! If you want to be a part of revitalizing this part of Morningside, call or text me at (562) 895-9399.