“vertical aqua gardens,” and they were donated to the shelter by local businesswoman Barrie Freeman and her new venture, Hi-Rise Harvest. The idea is to use these curious structures to educate the facility's residents, many of whom have little experience with fresh produce, much less gardening, on the value of better diets and modern techniques for growing. The seven units, each of which can produce hundreds of pounds of veggies in a typical season while taking up only a couple of square feet of space, were installed in March.