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A shared passion for gardening gives way to a heated boundary dispute in “Native Gardens,” Karen Zacarías’ comedy about neighboring couples divided by race, class, privilege and landscaping tastes.

Directed by Kate Ives, the play is set in Washington’s Georgetown neighborhood. Pablo, played by Eddie Perez-Reyes, and Tania, portrayed by Odette Gutierrez del Arroyo, are a young Latino couple expecting a baby and settling into a historic rowhouse in need of repairs.

Pablo is a successful attorney, while Tania is pursuing a doctorate and planning to replace their yard with an unrestrained garden of native plants.

Their new neighbors are Virginia and Frank Butley, an older white couple played by Judy Lewis and Chuck Dluhy. Frank, a longtime former General Services Administration employee, is an enthusiastic gardener with a preference for traditional European arrangements.

Tania and Frank initially connect through their enthusiasm for horticulture. Their differences become harder to overlook, however, as Frank pursues the Horticultural Society’s elusive Best Garden Award and Pablo and Tania prepare their yard for a gathering with his law firm clients.

The conflict erupts when Pablo and Tania begin installing a fence and discover that their property extends two feet into Frank’s prized garden. What starts as a disagreement over a boundary soon becomes a comic battle exposing assumptions about race, taste, age, entitlement and privilege.

Producer Marg Soroos described the production as “a comedy with a point,” saying it invites audiences to laugh at preconceived ideas that do not always match reality.

Ives said every character can appear both right and wrong depending on which side of the fence the audience considers. She hopes viewers recognize the couples as neighbors, friends and even versions of themselves.

The cast also wrestled with the characters’ contradictions. Dluhy said his challenge was portraying Frank’s racist, ageist or privileged remarks as the product of sincere ignorance rather than cruelty. Lewis said playing Virginia required her to set aside her own judgment and understand a woman rooted in a more conservative lifestyle.

Perez-Reyes connected with Pablo’s ambition and desire to prove himself professionally, although one part of the character felt less familiar: being able to purchase a Georgetown home and comfortably support a family.

The production mixes its broader social themes with regional humor, including references to Washington-area locations and jokes about government workplace stereotypes. Beneath the dispute, the play asks whether people with sharply different backgrounds can compromise—and whether laughter and grace can help them learn to live beside one another.

“Native Gardens” runs through April 13 at Aldersgate Church Community Theatre, 1301 Collingwood Road in Alexandria.