Phoenix's Japanese-American flower farmers memorialized

Victor Ren | The Republic

Fifty years ago, a drive down Baseline Road near South Mountain was a Sunday destination. It offered mile after mile of explosive colors and exotic flowers, thanks to the Japanese flower farmers.

The flower gardens were started by Japanese-American farming families in the 1950s, according to Kathy Nakagawa, the daughter of one of those families and a professor at Arizona State University.

"Everyone planted flowers, and they planted the same flowers," Nakagawa said. "You could go down seven miles and just see flowers and orange trees."

Nakagawa said several farmers settled in the area after they were released from the Japanese internment camps during World War II. There were two such camps in Arizona.

The flower gardens along Baseline Road eventually turned the area into a tourist destination. Even former President Ronald Ronald and first lady Nancy Reagan visited the shops, Nakagawa said.

"It brought more people in," Nakagawa said. "It gave people more things to do other than going to the Grand Canyon."

The farms have since disappeared, and been replaced with new homes and development. But now, those farmers are being recognized with an official memorial on Baseline Road.

Nakagawa said she is thrilled that the Japanese American Citizens League Arizona Chapter, Circle K and the City of Phoenix collaborated to build something honoring a part of Phoenix's history.

"Phoenix isn’t always great about preserving their history," Nakagawa said. "This is one more piece that hopefully won't be forgotten."

A disappearing tradition

Cynthia Kishiyama-Harbottle is also the daughter of a flower-farming family and recalled how hard her family worked to grow the plants each season.

"The land was not farmable before the Japanese families got there," Kishiyama-Harbottle said. "All the families had to dump out boulders and rocks. Families would have to plow the land by hand."

MORE: The Japanese-American flower growers who made Phoenix bloom

Kishiyama-Harbottle said her parents took ownership of the land in 1955 after they had gotten married, and her grandfather started planting flowers to test the soil in an attempt to see what would grow.

In addition to struggling with the soil, the farmers also faced unwanted visitors.

"Because they were open, people would have parties all the time in the flowers," Kishiyama-Harbottle said. "There were so much vandalism done to the flowers in the last few years."

Kishiyama-Harbottle said her parents were the last of the farmers. They sold their property in 2006.

Nakagawa said the flowers have disappeared because none of the children took on farming as their careers.

Creating a historic marker

Suzy Peele, director of real-estate development for Circle K Arizona Division, said Circle K was honored to work with Phoenix and the Japanese American Citizens League to create a historic marker.

Circle K brought in their own sign company, Pearson's Signs, to install the Japanese Flower Farmer memorial on the northwest corner of 40th Street and Baseline Road, Peel said.

Peel said Circle K made a $15,000 donation to build the memorial and have it installed.

"I think it is extremely important to the area to have that vision of what was there before," Peel said. "It was so vital to the community."

Peele said the city already had plans to include a historical marker for the community when Circle K had bought land in the area.

"I think it was a very important thing for Circle K to participate in," Peel said. "We are honored to be preserving a piece of that past."