It’s springtime and the flowers are starting to bloom – and all over town, you may be seeing little messages written in the weeds.

You’re not seeing things – it’s an annual art project called “Floraffiti.”

Floraffiti was first launched in 2013 by local artist Carter Hubbard. Volunteers plant seeds during the winter; when they grow, the plants spell out words and messages: “Together we Grow,” “Hope,” “Discover,” “Imagine,” and more. Volunteers planted them in 45 spots around town, from downtown Chapel Hill and Carrboro to the Chapel Hill Public Library and the Chapel Hill Community Center. (Some of the words and phrases are Hubbard’s, but it’s a collaborative project: this year, Hubbard teamed up with Josephus Thompson of the Poetry Project and worked with local teen and adult community groups. Participants wrote poetry, then chose a word based on their poems to plant throughout town.)

Carter Hubbard discussed Floraffiti with Aaron Keck on WCHL.

 

On Friday, April 14, Hubbard and some of the poets will be downtown for Second Friday Art Walk from 6-9 pm; they’ll be reading their poems around several of the Floraffiti words, beginning at Open Eye Cafe in Carrboro and heading down the road from there. (April may be the cruelest month, but it’s also National Poetry Month.)

For more info on Floraffiti (and Friday’s poetry reading), visit Floraffiti.com.