Kirkwood United Methodist Church hired Annette to create a landscape that would provide an attractive entrance into the sanctuary and also create a place for congregation members to gather. Annette was inspired to design a garden that would be as long lasting and sustainable as the Word heard inside the Church.

At the time Missouri Botanical Garden, Powell Garden in Kansas City, the University of Missouri, and Missouri State along with landscaping professionals across Missouri all voted on plants that were outstanding each year. It was the Plant of Merit program. Annette designed the garden with many of the plants on the list because they had earned the reputation to be reliable in our Missouri climate.

The garden was Certified as a Plant of Merit Garden by the Missouri Botanical Garden as a result of this commitment. Most all the original plants of merit are still there, proving it is still an excellent list of tough plants for the St. Louis region.

Custom benches were commissioned by Diane Sauer to provide a place to sit and stay awhile. When Annette sees people gathered there for weddings, funerals, concerts, or contemplation she is thankful to have been involved in the project.