Tyler Street community garden in Midland is owned and groomed by Stephanie Spencer.
Eight years ago, Spencer’s mother passed away and ever since, she’s searched for a way to keep her memory alive.
“There would be a homeless man walking down the street she would fix him a plate. There was a kid that didn’t have a place to stay, there was always a kid in our house," said Spencer.
After years of brainstorming, Stephanie says this past February something finally clicked.
“I figured hey this land is doing nothing, let’s grow something," said Spencer.
A community garden on her mother’s property, that Stephanie says has just about everything.
“I have cabbage, beans, greens, tomatoes, corn, collard greens, kale, pumpkin, watermelon, cantaloupe, tomatoes, all kinds of squash and peppers.”
But the best part for Stephanie, is giving back to her community.
“I don’t charge I just tell them to bless me with whatever they can," said Spencer.
But her primary goal has always been to bring the community together, something Spencer says her mother always did a beautiful job of.
“We’ve gotten so caught up in material things and the world period. We have a cell phone we don’t even see each other every day, we just text each other and that’s good enough," said Spencer.
A garden, that Stephanie’s best friend and neighbor says has served their community well.
“What’s that thing we have to do, we just have to jump and when you jump things start happening in your life. Steph jumped and the garden came," said neighbor Meleka Mcgee.