Renegade Urban Farmer Putting Philly Flower Design on the Map

For a guy who was born in Kentucky, raised in rural New Hampshire and had his own garden since age 6, the recent booming interest of city dwellers in agricultural pursuits is charming to Bailey Hale.
 
"I have a lot of friends from the city who don't understand that eggs come from chickens," says Hale, who moved to Philadelphia almost eight years ago. "It's the kind of thing that's second nature to a country boy, but it's fun to see someone pick up a chicken for the first time and kind of be afraid of it. Maybe by seeing that, they start getting their eggs at the farmer's market instead of what's cheapest at the store."
 
Hale, best described as a renegade urban farmer and award-winning flower designer who also happens to sing opera professionally, has found Philadelphia to be a relatively friendly city for the agriculturally minded. He has integrated chickens, bees and several crops into his urban dwelling--a four-bedroom brick house located in Center City (any additional description could put his creatures in jeopardy with city officials) and attached to a 1,600 square foot lot. Hale probably has some of the coolest neighbors in the city, or maybe it's his neighbors who like having a little bit of country cool in their concrete jungle.

Beyond his modest but active plot, Hale is best known as part of the city's hottest floral design outfit. He, Judith Campbell and Armas Koehler form Moda Botanica, which turned the 2009 Philadelphia Flower Show on its buds by capturing the attention of show-goers and judges alike with a modern, European design that was as fanciful as it was original.

"I think a lot of attendees thought it was weird," says Hale, "because it didn't look like the last 50 flower shows they'd been to. We were happy with any reaction."

Reaction has stretched to Manhattan and the West Coast. New York event planners can't find anyone locally taking risks like Hale and his Moda partners are in Philly. Moda has traveled as far as California to design flowers for a wedding, and its designs often fetch upward of $10,000. Hale's specialty is his wide-ranging knowledge of flowers and plants, including when and where to find the best. This week, he was in Holland, the center of the cut-flower world, for his twice-yearly visit to see its latest and greatest offerings.

"There are no bad flowers, just flowers that are poorly used," says Hale. "I definitely see people starting to rip off our looks or other people's looks and it definitely isn't always successful."

Such insider assessments are quick and clear for Hale, who grew up visiting his grandparents' farm in Kentucky and returned there for college. Hale's great grandparents actually raised chickens in Eastern Kentucky for Colonels Sanders when Kentucky Fried Chicken was in its infancy.

Hale graduated from the University of Kentucky in 2000 with degrees in horticulture and opera. He then spent six months as an intern at Longwood Gardens working with the Kennett Square display garden's most exclusive collections. He might never remember a person's name, he admits, but he'll always remember the name of a plant or a flower.

After an uninspiring year in Cincinnati, where he considered going to conservatory for opera, Hale moved back to Philly without a job and waited tables for a few years. He started working at a flower shop about seven years ago and began booking his own events. Eventually, it became clear Hale was outgrowing his employer, and Hale parted ways with the shop owner with a handful of restaurants who regularly used his services. In 2007, Moda was born.

When Hale, who grew up on 12 acres of wooded land in New Hampshire, bought his home in Center City two years ago, it wasn't until he signed at closing that he realized a sizable, trash-strewn lot also came with it. It wasn't until last winter, when Hale spent his nights dreaming about what kind of crops he'd grow, that his urban farm began to take shape. Since construction debris overran the lot, Hale built raised beds in which to plant seeds he copped from the Flower Show.  He planted 30 different heirloom tomatoes, squash, broccoli, and other herbs, as well as ornamental plants and flowers like bamboo. 

Hale wasn't even going to try chickens. "I'm not a big lawbreaker," he says. However, he saw a story in the paper with a quote from an animal control employee that basically OK'd owning chickens so long as noise or sanitation weren't issues. And, of course, if nobody snitched.

"That's when I sort of gave myself permission," Hale says. He acquired 12 chickens from multiple sources, including a feed store in Exton. Hale learned about chicken hierarchy and aggression and chose the best and quietest to live behind a fence that shields most everyone--except for an adjacent apartment building--from his urban farm.

"No one seems to be bothered. The chickens are in bed at dusk and don't get up until the sun comes up," Hale says. "There's much more noise coming from the fire station across the street and neighborhood kids. The chickens kind of blend in."

Then came the bees, which Hale ordered just like many folks do their bread or meat.

"I went to Reading Terminal Market on a Saturday morning, picked them up and got in a cab," Hale says.

Urban bees are twice as productive as their rural counterparts, Hale notes, and expects his full-sized hive to yield close to 75 pounds of honey (upscale honey goes for almost $8 a pound). His hive will probably split in two next year, allowing for even more honey. With some experience in bee handling from his days at Longwood, Hale has grown comfortable with the daily buzz of 40,000 potential stings.

"The only time they're aggressive is when you take their honey away, so when I do that next week, they might give me a little hassle," Hale says. "I've got about five stings, and I generally haven't worn gloves because you have a better chance of not squishing as many bees."

Hale says there is a modest network of urban farmers in Philadelphia, some of whom also have chickens and bees. While he's not an organizer, Hale recently signed a petition hoping for 500 signatures to legalize owning chickens in the city.  There are online hubs where urban farmers can share knowledge and resources, but it's still very much a developing movement.

"I've been happier as a city dweller having this plot and met a handful of other people who are, too," says Hale, who is still planning on singing with the Opera Company of Philadelphia this season. "Someday I'm sure I'm going to get caught, but I’m the one who's doing the right thing so I should just keep trying,"

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Joe Petrucci is managing editor of Keystone Edge. Send feedback here.

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Photos:

Bailey Hale inspects production in his backyard hive

The Moda Botanica installation at this year's Philadelphia Flower Show

Bailey Hale's urban garden

All Photographs by Michael Persico