OUR FIRST CARROTS

Photo by Jody Gabara

We picked our first carrots from our raised beds today. We cooked them for dinner and they were so delicious. We also had some swiss chard from the garden with lemon. We're growing beets, celery, arugula and lettuces to make a big salad..Can't wait for the other vegetables to come up. 

 BON APPETIT !!

Tea Time

Photo by Jody Gabara

Walking through the garden today I noticed the tea cups I took down from the chandelier. It had rained and I placed them on a bench. It looked like a cool photo.

Garden of Hearts

Photo by Stan Gabara

Over the years, we've collected heart shaped rocks from our trips to the beach, Lake Tahoe, and fishing trips in Oregon and Washington State.  These souvenirs in the garden bring back memories of all the fun times we've had.

Room With a View

Photo by Stan Gabara

We wanted to have a spot on the hill that was separated by something. We thought a old window would do the trick. What do you think? We can see it from anywhere in the garden and it adds so much character. Stan and I love to decorate outside because it is our second home. 

Photo by Stan Gabara

Here's another spot that we love to relax at and have a cappuccino in the morning. Windows are a great decoration to have in the backyard.

Wine Not

         We have been having fun in the garden getting ready for spring.  Stan thought of a perfect way to recycle our old cork collection.  He used wooden skewers with corks and stamped herb names onto them to make plant tags.  What a great way to recycle and make something look chic.  

Baby Eggs Popping Up Everywhere

         What a surprise to find a hummingbird’s nest in our chandelier outside our kitchen window.  The beautiful mother hummingbird kept flying back and forth to the chandelier and we knew something was up.  Now we are waiting for the two new hummingbirds to hatch.

         On the same day, we noticed a dove nesting in our hanging basket by the garden shed.  To our amazement the mother was sitting on two eggs.

Spring thyme is here.

First Home Grown Avocados

After 10 years of trying we finally got 9 avocados this year from our Hass trees.  You have to be patient, it is worth the wait.  We enjoyed our first avocados with a glass of merlot on the patio.  They were delicious!  There is something about growing your own fruit that makes it taste better.  That is why we love to support our local farms and eat organic produce.  

First Planted Seed

Photo by Carly Gabara

Welcome to Jody & Stan's first blog.  We recently decided we wanted to create a blog about our inspiring garden and home ideas.  We love gardening and are always trying something new.  Stan loves designing copper arches and water fountains.  I like to create anything from stamped silverware plant tags to outdoor distressed furniture, but our real passion is gardening.  We get a lot of our ideas from garden tours, magazines, stores, and online blogs. 

We first started with Indoor plants when we lived in a small condo, after that we knew we would always have something growing.  We bought our first house in 1979 in Novato, California.  We started our family of little garden helpers: Scott 26, Katie 23 and Carly 21.  Working as a family, we accomplished more than we could ever have dreamed.

We started a garden at our kids’ elementary school to inspire the children to grow their own vegetables.  We created stepping-stones, copper arches, and benches.  We even built raised beds for each grade to take care of and watch grow.  It was a great teaching experience to see the excitement on the children’s faces after their plants started to sprout.  After 10 years, we know that we made an impression when parents and students come up to us and say, “that was an amazing garden… thank you. ”

We are looking forward to blogging about our life in the garden.  See you in thyme.