Family transforms front yard into garden

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Chris and Tonya Hays live on Madden Drive in Sunblest. They transformed their front yard into a garden. (Submitted photo)
Chris and Tonya Hays live on Madden Drive in Sunblest. They transformed their front yard into a garden. (Submitted photo)

By Anna Skinner

A neighborhood home can put a lot of stipulations on residents with a green thumb, yet Chris and Tonya Hays, Fishers, have not let those stipulations stop them from following their passion.

They recently covered the clay soil that lays on their property with eight inches of compost, retrieved from Noblesville, and put in rows of different types of vegetation from the street to the front of the house.

“We have been gardening for 10 of 15 years we have been there and this year we decided to convert the entire front yard to garden space for flowers herbs and vegetables,” Chris said.

The Hays, along with their kids Kira, 11, and Alex, 8, grow just about everything they can. Tonya’s favorites are the herbs, which she includes in the soups and stews that she makes at home. Chris enjoys growing hops, what beer is made out of, and brews his own beer. The kids both enjoy growing tomatoes the most.

Chris said his favorite part about being a gardener is the food.

“You can’t get tomatoes or herbs or lettuce or anything that has the same intensity of gardening, and we can teach the kids where food really comes from,” Chris said.

The kids assist their parents with all the processes of having a garden, such as laying the compost, weeding and harvesting.

Chris and Tonya also enjoy woodworking, and run a furniture business out of their garage.

“It’s kind of nice to get your hands dirty after sitting in a sterile office all day,” Chris said.

To learn more, visit the family’s Facebook page, called Suburban Vegetation, that is open for discussion and helps teach people more about gardening in their front yard. There are also plenty of pictures of their own garden available.


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