Our story

It was during the Covid lock down that my love of growing things came back into focus. My daughter, Jenn, unexpectedly came to live with us because a nursing job offer brought her to work at our local hospital. She brought with her a passion for backyard farming. She had been actively growing her own organic vegetables where she lived in Tacoma, Washington – a city where community gardens are encouraged. Before I knew it, Jenn was planting seeds and different kinds of squash were popping up all over my garden. Soon after, it became a daily ritual for me to go out and oversee their progress.

During that season, Jenn regularly picked herbs from our kitchen garden and added them to whatever we were eating that day … from eggs in morning to salads or vegies at night. All the while she informed me of their specific beneficial qualities. When I came down with a cold, she encouraged me to eat raw basil leaves to soothe my throat (it works!) or drink a concoction of hot water infused with thyme and cayenne.  That time spent with my daughter helped me discover the herbs were not only delicious for culinary purposes – they were good for our health.

A couple years later, a job layoff led to an early retirement and I had another opportunity to refocus. My attention quickly turned to spending more time in the garden. I also pondered my lifelong dream of starting a small business, so as we talked it over as a family – the concept of edible landscaping and an herb business started to take shape. We went to work on propagating more flowers and herbs for the garden, while figuring out the logistics of becoming a cottage business and certified farmer’s market producer.

And All Good Gifts Farm came to be.