The future of flax is in a concrete wall built along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia

A 350-foot row of flax is growing in Maja Park along the Ben Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia. The crop row is part of a temporary art installation commissioned by the Association for Public Art.

The plant, whose fibers have historically been used in linen textiles, has something to say. The row is accompanied by a quote that Ben Franklin wrote in 1747 as he was lamenting the lack of unity among American colonial militias.

“At present, we are like separate filaments of flax before thread is formed,” Franklin wrote in his pamphlet “Plain Truth.” “Without strength, because without connection.”

Called “Franklin’s Thread,” the installation was conceived and built by architect Jeff Richards to demonstrate the past and possible future of flax as a commodity crop, taking inspiration from Franklin’s quote.