Where Community Takes Root
When Haja Iscandri-Scott moved to Atlanta, she found more than a place to live at The Front Porch. Through Sage Gardens, she discovered a way to nourish both people and community, one harvest at a time.
The plants looked thirsty.
On a hot afternoon, Haja Iscandri-Scott climbed to the rooftop of The Front Porch carrying a hose, simply wanting to help. The vegetables were wilting under the sun, and she could not just walk past them.
“For those who garden, we know that it’s calming,” Haja says. “It’s peaceful. It’s a good time for reflection.”
At the time, Haja had recently moved from Texas and was living at The Front Porch. She had helped restore community gardens before, including projects at the South DeKalb YMCA, but rooftop gardening was new to her. She was not looking for another project that day. She simply saw something that needed attention.
That afternoon marked the beginning of her journey with Sage Gardens.
While caring for the garden, Haja met HDDC President and CEO Cheneé Joseph and shared her experience in gardening, business development, accounting, and community programming. The conversation led to an opportunity to serve as the 2026 Farmer Fellow for Sage Gardens.
Today, Haja cares for The Front Porch rooftop garden, the Water Tower Garden, and a nearby rose garden. She also helps create programs that connect people through food, wellness, and education.
“I just went in there and started working with my hands, like I know how to do and like I love to do,” she says.
Long before Atlanta felt like home, it was the rooftop garden that caught Haja’s attention.
“What grabbed my heart was the garden,” she says.
The Front Porch gave her a place to live, but the garden gave her a reason to stay involved.
Growing food on a rooftop comes with its own challenges. Strong winds, intense heat, and the absence of natural soil mean every season requires patience and creativity.
“We have some wind fights up there,” Haja says with a laugh.
Today, more than 200 garden boxes produce tomatoes, peppers, strawberries, herbs, leafy greens, flowers, and other fresh produce high above Auburn Avenue.
Walking through the rooftop garden, visitors smell fresh mint, watch bees move from flower to flower, and see vegetables growing with the Atlanta skyline in the distance. For many, it is their first time seeing a garden thrive in the middle of a city.
For Haja, however, the harvest has never been just about vegetables.
“It’s not just gardening for gardening’s sake,” she says.
The garden helps address food access by reconnecting neighbors with fresh food and teaching them how to grow it themselves.
“We are becoming a source and a resource for food,” Haja says. “We’re the farmers and the hands responsible for growing the food that, hopefully, businesses and community members of Sweet Auburn will be able to take part in.”
Haja wanted the garden to become more than a place where food grows. She wanted it to become a place where people gather.
That vision led to Sage Saturdays on Auburn, a monthly event that brings together residents, entrepreneurs, chefs, health professionals, artists, and local organizations.
“It is a place for connection, and it’s a place for learning,” she says.
Neighbors learn about fresh produce, cooking, gardening, wellness, and local resources while spending time together on the rooftop.
One memory still sticks with Haja. When rain interrupted a Let’s Get Moving wellness program, no one left. They moved under the pavilion and finished the program together.
“The people were connected,” Haja recalls.
Moments like that remind her that building a healthier community begins with bringing people together.
For Haja, preserving Sweet Auburn means more than protecting historic buildings. It means investing in the people who call the neighborhood home.
She hopes the rooftop garden will continue to expand its reach by supplying fresh produce, introducing more families to gardening, and creating new opportunities for neighbors to connect with one another.
Every week, she gets to work on the rooftop. Some days she waters seedlings. Other days she welcomes visitors or prepares for another community event.
What began with a few thirsty plants has grown into a place where neighbors learn, connect, and build community together.
“The Front Porch is the heart of the community,” Haja says. “It’s doing so much, and it’s going to do more.”