Page 46 January 2013 Solution to family problem leads to growing business By Cassandra Strauss This family’s business originated as a solution to a family problem. “My father moved in with us (last) January and couldn’t bend over to work the raised (garden) bed,” said Alex Billingsley of Arcadia. But Billingsley couldn’t fi nd any vertical gardening units on the market that fi t his needs and were aesthetically pleasing. So, he built one. When he was installing his personal unit on the fence facing the street, cars would pull into the median in the middle of 44th Street and yell at him from their cars to ask where he bought the unit. “Some more bold people knocked on my door, which I love, and asked where I got them,” Billingsley said. “These random calls happen all the time.” By June, he had a provisional patent in place on the design concept and was creating units for friends and neighbors, and the family saw the potential for a start- up business. Flower Street Urban Gardens was created at the Billingsley house on the corner of 44th Street and its namesake, Flower Street. “This was not something I had planned,” Billingsley said. “It completely started as an organic process of me wanting to create something beautiful for my backyard that was practical.” Although Billingsley came up with the concept, the whole family is involved. His wife Yvonne handles public and customer relations while son Ian helps with the construction and installation as well as contacting local farmers markets. Flower Street Urban Gardens has sold more than 25 units. At $300 to $500 each, the units are pricier than a standard horizontal gardening setup. But customers say it’s worth it. “I have a bad back, and I thought, wow, not having to be bent over all the time would be really nice,” said Gina Burton, an Arcadia Realtor who bought a mobile cart from Flower Street. The units also save time and costs on water and soil. In the Valley, where the natural topsoil isn’t suitable for gardening, a raised bed requires bags and bags of bought soil. Each Flower Street unit requires 6 cubic feet of soil and about 2 gallons of water every other day. Burton said she hooked up a small soaker-hose irrigation system with a timer and moves the mobile unit depending on the sun. Christine Fortman, co-owner of Berridge Nursery on Camelback Road, had seen vertical gardening units. “Over the years we’ve tried upright gardening, and people loved all the other models, but now they want something new and different,” Fortman said. Berridge had two mobile carts on display during the fall and said customers were extremely interested. “They say, ‘I just drove up 44th Street and saw them, and now they’re here,’ ” Fortman said. “The design works for a lot of our customers.” A focus of Flower Street is on sustainability and locality. Billingsley’s brother, David, welds the brackets for the units. Arizona Bag, a Phoenix company, manufactures the plastic lining, and the wood is from a managed redwood forest. Father and son construct and install the units. “Is it a good idea to be as self-sustaining as possible? Of course,” Ian said. More information is available at FlowerStreetUrbanGardens.com. a a l Garden • Arcadia High • Peo op p p p s o o • St. Theresa • Basketball • Ki id d ds i se e eu ums • Softball • Shemer Art • Ch hr r ri r Vo o o ol lleyball • Neighborhood News • Sp po o or N te e e er rtainment • Ingleside • Football • N N N a en n n nt ts • Squaw Peak • Recreation • Dram m m ma a d Da a an nce • Church News • Hopi • Arc ca a a n l lt t th & Fitness • Arts & Entertainme e en n a s s • Hopi • Football • Desert Botani ic c c ca S a ad d d dia High • People • Phoenix Zoo • S S le • Ph a as s sketball • Kids • Tavan • Museums s • Tav h h er A l w w w Peak • Recreation • Drama • Baseb ba a a hu u ur rch News • H i Follow the Titans. Visit Sports at l h h hem em emer er er er A A A A Art rt rt rt rt • • • • Ch Ch Ch Ch Chri ri ri ri rist t st st st L L L Lut ut uth he he her ra ran n • • V Vo V l ghborhood News • Sports • Arts & Ent ngleside • Football • Neighborhood w w Pe Peak ak • • R Re ecr t ti i w Peak • Recr ti hemer Art Ch i orts • A l • Nei V rts & En ghborh h he A l l hemer Art • Christ Lutheran • Vo e d d w w Pe Peak ak • • R Rec ecre reat atio ion • D D l d ARCADIADAILY COM i i i i i i i i ig g g i i i i i i i i i i i ig g g g w w w. ARC ADIALIT TLE LE AG U E .com PRE-REGISTER ONLINE TODAY FOR THE 2013 SPRING SEASON BASEBALL & SOFTBALL AGES 4-18 AVOID LATE FEES AND REGISTER BEFORE JANUARY 12TH REGISTER EARLY AND THROW HESITATION A CURVE. 2 N D R E G I S T R A T I O N W A L K - I N D A T E

Page 47 January 2013 By Greg A. Bruns In case you didn’t know, the Frank Lloyd Wright home – the hot topic of 2012 in our neighborhood – has been sold and will be taken care of properly in the form of historical preservation. From the Arcadia News and me, thank you to the many parties involved in the saving of the this iconic home in Arcadia. There are many treasures in our neighborhood and in my opinion, this home is de fi nitely one of them. However, the support from the people – from the neighborhood overall, is our most valuable asset. Thank you to our Councilman, Sal DiCiccio and our former Councilman and now Mayor, Greg Stanton, and myriad others in the many different sectors of our government, who helped with the “red tape” and other aspects of the deal. Thanks also to Robert Joffe, whose cell phone has been blowing up since October over this home. Robert did the deal as a A note from the publisher about the Wright home courtesy “because it is the right thing to do” but I wonder if he had any idea what he was getting into with the national coverage of this home and the passion people have for (and against) it. Should just be another month or two of telling and re-telling the story and then maybe he can get back to his life. Things like this give Arcadia the cool reputation it deserves and makes me proud to be a part of the community as both a businessman and a resident. Greg A. Bruns Publisher, Arcadia News The interior of the David & Gladys Wright house as it was in 2008, appearing in the Arcadia Home 2008 Winter edition.