It's like the mythical Hanging Garden of Babylon, but it's at New Milford Hospital.

From what was once an unsightly loading dock roof, a beautiful herb-and-vegetable garden has sprung forth-actually it was carefully designed and planted.

This garden grows a floor above ground and over the heads of everyone who passes in and out of the loading dock doors, and it's more than just beautiful, but practical as well.

As a complement to the hospital's Plow to Plate program, a comprehensive dining services approach that focuses on local, sustainable and whole foods, Chef Kerry Gold now has an even wider variety of ingredients at his fingertips, or at least outside his kitchen window.

"It was this terribly ugly area adjacent to the kitchen, the roof of the receiving dock," said Mr. Gold, whose cooking station overlooks the now blooming garden. "So we thought, 'What can we do with this?'"

What they did was enlist local landscape designers, led Richard Rosiello and Laura Evans, a hospital Board member with a construction company, and a host of dedicated gardeners and hospital employees and volunteers who crafted a plan to build a 300-square-foot green garden. Now the loading dock roof is equipped with lemongrass, thyme, basil, peppers, eggplant, oregano, edible flowers and other organic ingredients to help the cooks enhance hospital meals. Morning glories, pole beans and other vining plants are supported by the cyclone fencing.

Indeed, with this garden the hospital gets to spice up dinners, garnish for comfort or get creative with its sustainable cooking. For example, from a bath of lavender, Mr. Gold baked lavender scones, a treat that the nurses in the hospital's maternity ward raved about.

Enlargements of produce grown by local farmers who supply the hospital's kitchen adorn the brick walks, and beautiful benches are in place for those who want to visit and rest.

In 2010, the Advanced Art Class of the local high school developed a mural of symbols of healing that is affixed to a building facing the garden.

Local Brownie scout troops were enlisted to help with maintenance and to learn how they could "grow their own" food. In 2011, this program will be expanded to the regional Brownie and Girl Scout troops, perhaps even a special Plow to Plate badge program will be offered!