For the past eight years, the community garden at Kloshe Illahee Manufactured Home Community near the border of Federal Way and Milton has served as a way to create bonding and a sense of togetherness.

The garden serves more than just Kloshe Illahee residents. Some of the garden produce goes to the local food bank every two weeks.

Charmaine Sanders and Susan Karpen, who both oversee the garden, said the garden is completely full with plants and vegetables that are maintained by neighborhood residents. Residents plant carrots, lettuce, strawberries, tomatoes and more in their own garden spaces.

The garden was started by Sanders in a vacant lot and has since been moved to its current location at 2500 S. 370th St., Federal Way.

The garden has several terraced gardens that are 32 inches tall as well as raised garden beds 12 inches off the ground. Residents are required to maintain their area and make sure it’s tidy and weed-free.

If people don’t keep their areas clean, well, Sanders joked, “we get snarly with them.”

But really, if they notice someone’s space getting a little messy, they’ll reach out and make sure everything is OK.

“Sometimes we’ll find out there is a family problem, or a physical problem that has prevented them from taking care of their garden,” Karpen said.

Another staple of the garden is that everything is organic, including fertilizer and pesticides. That’s one of the rules residents must follow if they request to use a garden space.

One of Karpen’s main jobs is to help provide residents with planting guides that tell them more about companion plants and the right produce, depending on the season.

“It’s fun to walk through because there’s a nice variety,” Sanders said.

Currently, there are about 17 spaces open for Kloshe Illahee residents to reserve. Anyone is welcome to visit the garden.