About

• Hello! My name is Jenny deMars, and I’m the voice behind “Girl Has Thyme.” After spending over a decade in retail banking, I left my job when my husband’s career uprooted us from Seattle, WA to Albany, NY to complete residency training in anesthesiology. We spent four years living in Upstate NY, where I have some of the happiest memories of my life. Many things changed during our time on the east coast. After much debate, I decided not to return to work so I could stay home with our then 9 month old son and focus on keeping life at home relatively sane. It was an adjustment in which I tortured myself at length. To cope with said torture, I started a vegetable garden during our first summer in Albany. What began as a hobby turned into something so much more. Gardens are a classic metaphor for life. They teach us patience. They teach us to enjoy the simple things. Gardening in New York made me grateful for the opportunity to slow things down and enjoy time. I remember thinking to myself, while pulling weeds, “Why the hell would I want a job!?!” We have since relocated back to the Pacific Northwest. We are living in Tacoma, WA. We now have a five-year-old boy and a two-year-old daughter. It was sad to leave my garden and I miss it deeply. Yet, I’m excited about what’s next as we settle into our new life back home. I’m still not sure what my next professional endeavor will be and I’m ok with that. I’m lucky that I get this time with my kids while they are young. I’m lucky that I have time. As for the gardening, that’s the easy part. All I need is dirt and seeds.

  Other things about me: I have a beagle, named Max. When I’m not gardening, I’m often cooking or thinking about food. I love drinking wine; I prefer red, but enjoy crisp, white wines out on the patio during the warm months. I knit. I like my coffee black. I detest squirrels, but tolerate them. And, in the summer, I often have dirt under my fingernails. It’s wonderful to meet you.

  This gardening blog began in New York. At the time, I had a fairly well established garden space. Now that I’m back in the Pacific Northwest, I will be taking what I learned and starting fresh. Currently, we are in a transition period. We are renting a home that has some lovely perennials beds and I’m growing herbs and vegetables in containers. We will be looking for a home to purchase over the next year. I’m excited to write about our journey. Thanks for following along.

  *If you’d like to send me a note, feel free to send an email to jenny@girlhasthyme.com