From Vacant Lot to Bamboo Nursery

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A few blocks away from the levee breach site that flooded the Lower Ninth Ward during Hurricane Katrina sits the Ninth Ward Nursery, owned by Mark Sanders, a self-proclaimed bamboo enthusiast.

At first site, the nursery almost looks like a shack like house, but once inside, it transforms into a little oasis of serenity and peace. Wind sways through tall bamboo shoots, as Sander’s cat prances over the wooden bridge floorboards and rock trails. To complete the scene, Sanders placed different decorations, including various Virgin Mary statues.

  • Mark Sanders standing in front of bamboo shoots.
    Mark Sanders, owner of the Lower Ninth Ward Nursery. Photo: Dorothy Carpenter.
  • A close-up shot of a bamboo shoot tag.
    Several of the bamboo shoots at the Lower Ninth Ward Nursery were labeled with tags. Photo: Dorothy Carpenter.

About a decade ago, the lot which homes the Lower Ninth Ward nursery was empty and overgrown like others throughout the neighborhood. Sanders purchased the lot 11 years ago from a young woman who had inherited the property from her aunt. He paid $5,000 for it.

“This young lady moved to Houston after Katrina, and she was tired of spending money to get the yard mowed and paying property taxes every year, and she just got rid of it,” Sanders said.

Owning a bamboo nursery was never part of a life plan for Sanders. Prior to embarking into the plant world, Sanders worked as a journalist for 24 years. He was the editor of a travel magazine right before getting into the bamboo industry.

  • Outside of Lower Ninth Ward Nursery.
    The Lower Ninth Ward Nursery is located just a few blocks from the levee breach site. Photo: Dorothy Carpenter.
  • Ring bell for service sign with a bell hanging over it.
    The Ninth Ward Nursery has several unique decorations and signs throughout it. Photo: Dorothy Carpenter.
  • Mark Sanders walking through bamboo nursery.
    Sanders shared that he enjoys giving visitors tours of the Lower Ninth Ward Nursery. Photo: Dorothy Carpenter.
  • A sign that says "ask us for a free popsicle" hangs in the bamboo nursery.
    Nothing beats the Louisiana heat like a cold treat, and Sanders always offers free popsicles to those who stop by the nursery. Photo: Dorothy Carpenter.
  • A wide shot of the nursery where there is a wooden path and Virgin Mary statues.
    A wooden path weaves through the Lower Ninth Ward Nursery. Photo: Dorothy Carpenter.
  • A smaller greenhouse room, located at the back of the nursery.
    Sanders shared that it isn’t uncommon for there to be snakes or other animals inside of the nursery, making the wooden path essential for walking on. Photo: Dorothy Carpenter.
  • A cat lounging in the nursery.
    Sanders’ cat is usually lounging or prancing around the nursery, but is a little shy around visitors. Photo: Dorothy Carpenter.
  • The inside of the greenhouse, where visitors are greeted by another Virgin Mary statue.
    There are many Virgin Mary statues around the Lower Ninth Ward Nursery. Photo: Dorothy Carpenter.

So, why bamboo?

Sanders stumbled upon bamboo almost accidentally. He wanted to build a natural privacy yard for his yard at the time and knew there were types of bamboo that would grow tall enough, which also happened to be noninvasive species.

Sanders overbought when shopping for the wall and listed the excess bamboo shoots on Craigslist. The shoots sold instantly. From that day forward, Sanders was hooked. He kept buying the plants to sell, eventually learning to propagate and grow them himself, which brought him to his nursery now.

“I just felt really, really in love with bamboo,” Sanders said.

Now, Sanders combines his love for bamboo and journalism into one, serving as editor of Bamboo Magazine, which is published by the American Bamboo Society.

Mark Sanders standing in his bamboo nursery.
Sanders said that he could talk about bamboo all day long, if you let him. Photo: Dorothy Carpenter.

The nursery started as a single lot, but now Sanders owns the neighboring lot and a couple more lots a few blocks away.

“When I bought this property in 2015, there was nothing here,” Sanders said. “It was just open land, and as the nursery grew, I just kept reinvesting my money over and over and over again, and then I bought this lot next to here, and I bought greenhouses, and eventually I bought two other lots on Flood Street nearby, and now ten years in, it just has provided me everything that I have.”

Besides the affordability, Sanders also explained how the Lower Ninth Ward offers a unique type of freedom to own and operate a business within.

“The Lower Ninth Ward is a place where people truly do feel free to do what they want,” Sanders said. “The drawback of not receiving any attention from the city is that there’s just not very much down here, and there’s nothing being done for people down here, but on the plus side, people like me can come down here and start a plant nursery.”

  • A "more bamboo this way" sign leads to another side of the nursery.
    There is a second side of the Lower Ninth Ward Nursery, that can be reached by following the wooden path. Photo: Dorothy Carpenter.
  • Sanders standing in front of bamboo.
    Sanders shared that he met his current partner through the bamboo industry. Photo: Dorothy Carpenter.
  • Bamboo shoots on both sides of a wooden path.
    Bamboo shoots line the other side of the nursery. Photo: Dorothy Carpenter.

Sanders is aware of the neglect the Lower Ninth Ward has received and acknowledges that his nursery is out of place within the neighborhood.

“People down here have been very, very, very friendly, but not on any sort of intimate level,” Sanders said. “I get along with everybody down here, and I talk to my neighbors down here more than I have in other neighborhoods, but I feel like there is sort of that invisible division, and it’s not just race, it’s also just, again, I’m just not from here. It goes back generations.

In some ways, Sanders’ nursery is a reminder of the scars Hurricane Katrina left on the Lower Ninth Ward. On one hand, he’s been able to grow a beautiful sanctuary, providing him with a livelihood, but at the cost of someone leaving a family property to relocate to Houston after Hurricane Katrina, another loss of the once vibrant, generational-built community.

“Folks down here have been, they’ve just been screwed over for so long,” Sanders said. “It makes me angry. It makes me sad.”

This story is part of a semester-long investigative reporting project into New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward nearly 21 years after Hurricane Katrina. It was created by an immersion journalism student in the Journalism, Advertising, and Media Studies program at UW-Milwaukee. Other stories from the project are available on The Storm That Never Left: Inside New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward Nearly 21 Years After Katrina.

This work was made possible through the support of MPC Endowment Ltd., the philanthropic affiliate of the Milwaukee Press Club, and a private donor.