Both the weed barrier material and the ant treatments were expensive.

But because of the memorial fund initially established by the church, as well as the annual $100 fee paid by plot holders, the ant invasion is quashed and the bermuda grass encroachment is halted - at least for now.

A small portion of the plot fees also goes toward helping pay the church’s water usage.

The garden has become very popular in the neighborhood.

One plot belongs to Lake Highlands Elementary and groups of kids and teachers often walk over to hold outdoor classes and parties, as well as work their plot.

Community support has also been good. All the mulch is provided free by Lindsay’s Tree Service & Woods, and scouts from Troop 730 out of St. Mark’s lend labor.

Thanks to the carpentry work of Boy Scout Troop 707, each of the 30 plots has its own custommade bench. They also built a huge compost bin, complete with a plexiglass window for worm watching.

Establishing a community garden on church property is becoming a viable way to by-pass undetermined and drawn out city policies for public land use.

Along with Highlands Christian, Our Saviour Luthern, Northway Christian, and most recently, Ascension Espisopal represent a handful of successful community gardens that have sprung up on church property.

Since the HCC garden’s inception, only three gardeners have given up their plots, which is good news for the nine people on the waiting list. Carlton is excited about reassigning the plots.

“We have a good fertile area here, and I think a lot of gardeners were surprised by how quickly things came up - grass included," says Carlotn.

"But I’ve been real pleased at how conscienentious folks have been about working their plots. It was my intention all along for each plot to be an individual endeavor by each gardener. I provided the plots...and then went home!”

The Betty and Jimmy Baker Memorial Garden at Highlands Christian Church is located behind the church at 9949 McCree Road.

For more information about the garden, contact Gene Carlton at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).