The shop is already moving when we arrive. Buckets line the tables. Youth florist, Josh Mawutodji wraps bouquets with damp paper towels and old newspaper, folding carefully while explaining the method. There is comfortable chatter and a rhythm that feels familiar.
Most of the people working here did not come in knowing how to be florists. They learned by doing. By washing buckets, making mistakes, harvesting flowers, and showing up to learn. Over time, confidence builds through repetition and trust.
At South Side Blooms, flowers move from soil to stem to centerpiece, but the work goes beyond what is sold. In the shop and across the farms, young people are learning skills, taking responsibility, and becoming part of something that depends on them.
Dionta White has been with South Side Blooms for nearly three years. He found his footing outdoors. “Some people come in here real bad. Like some of us come in here, going through stuff at home, or life ain’t just going right,” After a court situation, a friend connected him to this job. His friend moved on. Dionta stayed.
What keeps Dionta here is not just the work, but the community around it. “We talk about our problems. We all, like, we look out for each and one another. We keep each other accountable for stuff. So, at the end of the day, we wanna see each other do better.” For Dionta, the farm is not an escape from the neighborhood, but a place within it where responsibility and care are practiced every day.
“It was about 10 years ago when they (founders Quilen & Hannah Blackwell) had this idea, like how can we make a difference in the community? What can we bring to it? What is the community missing?” – Erica, Head of Operations at South Side Blooms
“People have a reason now to purchase flowers through us, because it is actually changing the neighborhood. And not just on the South Side too, on the West Side. And that’s one of the main reasons why we decided to move out there is because we’re only accessible to kids on the South Side. And as we know, the West Side is very similar to South Side in the sense that there’s not a lot of things happening in terms of like development, right? So we just… We want to be accessible to everybody. And I think that’s one of the, the real social impacts that we’ve had is like connection and kids seeing a future there.” – Erica, Head of Operations at South Side Blooms
Josh shared, “When I first started, I used to doubt myself a lot.” When he asked for help, people encouraged him to stop copying others and trust his own creativity.
Most of the people here did not arrive knowing how to do this work. They learned by showing up and trying. Over time, uncertainty gives way to rhythm, and rhythm becomes confidence. You can see it before you hear it, in the way people stand and handle their work.
“It’s a very positive job. If anyone’s struggling, we tend to help each other, like, all the time.” – Akili Thornton
Creativity is present, but it is not treated as something rare or precious. It is practiced. People are encouraged to work through the process rather than rush the outcome. As they repeat the work, their own approaches take shape.
There is value placed on every part of the process. Washing buckets. Taking inventory. Breaking down boxes. Preparing for deliveries. The work makes it clear that care is not limited to the final product. It extends to everything that supports it.
Nothing here is accidental. The compost piles. The reused materials. The way skills are taught with intention. The flowers will wilt. What lasts longer is what people carry with them, confidence, capability, and the understanding that they were part of something that mattered.
Outside, the garden moves at a slower pace. Plants follow the season and the weather. Rain is collected, materials are reused, and compost is returned to the soil. Sustainability here is not abstract. It is built into daily decisions.
The farm is replanted each year and watered using collected rain, with a small solar system powering the pump that keeps everything moving. The setup is modest and still evolving. Everyone remembers how nervous they were installing it, learning through trial and error rather than aiming for perfection.
Nothing here is treated as disposable by default. Plant waste returns to the beds, pallets are reused, and systems are designed to last as long as they can. Learning to grow flowers also means learning to care for the land that makes the work possible.
Community shows up over and over in how people describe this place. The word family comes up often, not as a slogan, but as a way of working together.
For some, this is a first job. For others, it is a place they have grown into over years. Exposure changes perspective. Seeing what is possible makes new ideas feel reachable.
“I was just trying to get a job in high school, and I just fell in love with the work. I’ve grown up here ever since. […] I recently met a florist from St Louis. She got a shop like this, she didn’t just settle for just one little thing. She got the whole block. So, (laughs) that just made me look at certain things different. She just inspired me […] to go harder.” – Rashod Little, Youth Floral Lead.
The roots of this work stretch beyond the present moment. They reach back through generations shaped by migration, labor, faith, and resilience. The relationship to land carries memory, both of hardship and of possibility.
What is being cultivated is steadiness. In neighborhoods where businesses and institutions often disappear, remaining present matters. Over time, consistency becomes trust, and trust becomes part of the community itself.
This work does not claim to solve everything. It offers something more practical. Skills that last. Confidence earned through repetition. A place where people can imagine a next step and feel supported while taking it.
As the day winds down, the work shifts rather than stops. Bouquets are boxed. Rows are weeded. Conversations turn to what comes next, and the word that surfaces again and again is family.
South Side Blooms is often described through its outcomes, sustainability, job creation, local food systems. Those ideas only make sense when grounded in the people who show up every day, caring for the land and for each other.
Erica tells us that for a long time, people recognized the name but not the work. The farm was often confused with the emptier lot down the street. When the greenhouse went up, that changed. “Oh, that’s South Side Blooms. We see you now,” people said.r
If you are wondering how to support this kind of community, the answer is simple. Buy the flowers. Share the story. Show up when you can. Support the places that invest in people, and allow what grows there to continue outward.
Education
Health