We had the good fortune of connecting with Daniel Mobley and Sarah Jackson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
When most people think of gardening, they typically think of their grandparent’s garden. We think of our grandparents because they are really the last generation to view growing food as a means of padding the budget and security. However, times have changed since the era of the great depression (though the similarities seem to have increased over the past few months), and so have people’s reasoning for gardening. When our clients talk about their reasoning for growing food, they typically fall into three main categories: for sustainability / environmental reasons, to ensure that the food their families consume is the highest quality possible, and for the therapeutic qualities of gardening. This is why when we build someone a garden, or help teach someone how DIY their own garden, we aim to create outdoor spaces that are as beautiful and inviting as they are healthy and environmentally friendly. Because when a garden checks all of the boxes, people actually WANT to spend time in them. It becomes less of a chore and more of a treat to look forward to. We do this in a variety of ways. We build garden beds with the highest quality materials possible that still fit within the client’s budget, we prioritize the aesthetic of the space just as much as the production, and we offer educational opportunities so that people have success after we have left. We want people to be so successful in the garden that they inevitably grow more food than they can consume, and we encourage all of our clients to share that abundance with their neighbors – a long southern tradition that we feel is long overdue for a resurgence. So, through offerings such as garden coaching (for those wanting to get started but don’t know where to start), on site consultations (for people that might have a challenge that they can’t quite get over), or edible landscaping (mimicking the style of your house / landscape while incorporating edibles), we are here to remind people that growing food is cause for celebration!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
We certainly have plenty of favorite spots, but our home sweet homestead in East Atlanta is one of the best. A backyard garden to table brunch is our favorite way to launch a weekend with visiting friends courtesy of Chef Daniel! Once we’ve fueled up, we like to center our weekends around adventure. First stop is the East Palisades trail along the Chattahoochee River. We hike in with our tubes and a backpack cooler full of cold beverages and walk along the river all the way through the magical bamboo forest. Once we arrive at our favorite “shoot the hooch” launching spot, we blow up our tubes and reward ourselves with a cold beer as we float down the river back to our cars, saying hello to the turtles, blue heron, and fellow floaters along the way. Undoubtedly, we would have planned a visit around live music, so that night we would be heading to Candler Park Festival, 420 Fest, the Tabernacle, or even the Fox for an extra special show to move and groove the night away. In covid-19 times, we even hosted a special backyard all-day music festival we called “Shaky Gardens Fest” to keep the tradition alive. For the remainder of the visit, we would lead a bike tour of all of the different Atlanta neighborhoods cruising along the beltline and backstreets and hitting up all of our favorite restaurants and bars along the way. We’d head to El Tesoro in Edgewood, Carroll Street Café in Cabbage Town, Folklore in Inman Park, Botiwalla at Ponce City Market, and Après Diem in Midtown. We’d finish our bike tour with a picnic at Piedmont Park and a game of glow in the dark bocce ball as we watch the sunset behind the cityscape. Well, if it’s a full moon, we might just throw in a hike up to Arabia Mountain too! The next morning before they leave, we cannot forget to support our local farmers and show off our thriving local food scene, so a visit to Grant Park Farmers Market for produce is a must. Next, a beer at Eventide Brewing and then Evergreen Bakery for some fresh pastries as a parting snack as they head out of town. Now, that is the perfect (and possibly exhausting) Atlanta weekend in our books!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
It’s almost impossible to hone in on a single person that we can attribute our success. We are so thankful for our entire network of friends and family who have supported us from day one. We both value and nurture our relationships, and we have been humbled and so grateful to see how people have showed up to help and promote our new business. That said, the one driving force of consistent inspiration, wisdom, and humility that we both return to is Nature. It is the reason we do what we do and the reason for how we do it. We firmly believe that humans possess an innate tendency to seek connection with nature, and we also believe that gardening is the simplest way to meet Nature half way. Over time, thoughts inevitably shift from ‘what can I get out of this’ to ‘how am I a part of this’ – a connection that has been inseparable from the human experience since the dawn of history. It is this connection, forged through yearly experiments in the dirt and in the kitchen, that leads us to teach others how to be better stewards, not only of the earth, but of bodies, their families, their communities. So, the ultimate shout out is to Nature. Our OG Mom, if you will. For grounding us, fueling us, humbling us, and for inspiring us every day to share her magic with others through growing food.

Website: www.thymetoparty.com
Instagram: instagram.com/thymetoparty

Image Credits
Hilary Stroud

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