Something Good: Woman Starts A Community Garden In Northeast Oklahoma City

Latasha Timberlake started Lillian Timber community garden last year as a way of giving back to her community.

Timberlake has lived all over the world, however when it came time to pursue her passion, she came back to the place where she grew up. 

“I grew up just right on 6th street, so not far from here. And it’s wonderful to see it full circle because this is where I started you know. And my grandmother she would always say, bring the knowledge home,” said Timberlake. 

The garden got its name from Timberlake’s grandmother, Lillian. She started the garden, near NE 21st and Lottie, as a response to the food insecurity in northeast Oklahoma City. 

Volunteers maintain the garden and the food is available to everyone.

“I’ve had a lot of people say, you need a fence, or you need this, but I want it to be open because I want people to understand that this is for everybody,” said Timberlake. 

Right now, in the garden, there are tomatoes, kale, jalapeno peppers and variety of herbs, like rosemary and thyme. The cantaloupes are progressing as are the eggplant.  

As the summer comes to an end, Timberlake is looking forward to fall planting.

“Those are the rooted vegetables. For me the rooted vegetables are my favorite because those are the vegetables that remind us to stay grounded,” said Timberlake. 

“The wintertime, a lot of things take longer to grow, so that’s our time to remind us to slow down,” said Timberlake. 

There are also scheduled plant days to maintain and plant new things in the garden.

“On those days bring whatever you want, and we plant it,” said Timberlake. 

There are groups from local colleges, civic organizations, youth groups, even workers from Scissortail Park that have come out to help. 

And because of her dedication to the garden, she is now working on three affiliate gardens, with more in the works in northeast Oklahoma City, as well as Spencer.