Finster began building an elaborate environment around his home in Summerville, GA in 1961. In Finster’s words: "It took me about 7 years to clear out this jungle killing over one hundred snakes and cutting thousands of trees, bushes, vines and thorns. Filling ditches. Leveling, cleaning out garbage throughout. Labor all by hand tools. Many years ago I know God spoke to my soul that there was something for me in Pennville after 40 years of preaching the gospel without charge, I then felt led to build a paradise garden in which I will open print the holy Bible verse by verse."

The 4 acre site includes Paradise Gardens Park and Museum, the 5-story World’s Folk Art Chapel, and the Finster Folk Art Gallery. The Gardens (also known as the "Plant Farm") are a maze of abstract, symbolic sculptures and structures. Finster used concrete in great flowing sweeps, embedding in it tiles, glass, junk and the Gospel. Biblical quotations abound on hand-painted signs and in the mosaic cement paths. Structures are topped off with turrets and pinnacles. Some of the sites include: Bicycle Towers, Tomb of the Unknown Body, the Giant Cement Boot, the People Mural, and the Cement Roses.

Howard was probably better known for his art than the Gardens. Around 1976, he had a vision that told him to paint sacred art. By 1984, he was representing the U.S. at the Venice Biennale. His drawings, paintings and sculptures go for big money and crossed the line from outsider art to a commercial industry. He was internationally famous with art shows around the world, appearances on countless TV shows, and featured in many magazines and newspapers. Finster passed away in 2001. The Gardens are one of Georgia’s top 10 tourist attractions. For more, see these websites: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6.