Saturday, March 21, 2026

Traveling with the Grobmyers. Gibbs Gardens

 Gibbs Gardens is located in North Georgia close to Jasper. It is a 300+ acre family estate. It was built by Jim Gibbs starting in 1980. He designed and developed the land. There are incredible sections of flowers. The garden is designed so that there is something blooming there or at least there’s color there most of the year. They are known for their daffodils. Two whole hillsides are covered in waves of blooms.

With that said this winter’s crazy weather took a toll on the buttercups. We had warm weather them very cold weather and then warm etc for much of January and February. We didn’t know what was happening next so how were flowers suppose to know. So this year there were not as many blooming. I will show some comparisons between last year and this year. Even without as many daffodils there’s still lots of beautiful flowers, trees, and sculptures to look at.

A friend introduced me to the gardens last year and I intended to go back throughout the year to see the roses, hydrangea and day lilies but sadly did not make it. Maybe this year. 


The entrance is full of colorful blooms and planters full of plants.




This is the daffodil hill last year at about the same time.


This is that hill this year.


There are lots of different varieties of daffodils. Here are just a few different ones.






This one has a pretty dark red rim around the center.











A pretty pink center.




Snowdrops
Some of the pretty tulips with the small face pansies. I think they are called violas.





This little “fairy” baby was having her first birthday pictures made at the gardens. She was enjoying playing in the grass.


Part of the Japanese garden.


Flowering quince blooming.
Some of the different sculptures in the Japanese gardens.







If you get the chance to go over to the gardens you need to visit. It was about a three and a half hour drive from our town. With the longer days it makes for a long but nice day. 

This year we did not walk up to the Manor House. This is the family home and people do live there. I was so shocked last year when I found out people lived in the middle of the gardens with visitors allowed to walk all around the house. People were peeping in the windows and you could see people sitting around the table. 

They call Gibbs Gardens Seasons of Color and that is exactly what it is. Colors are everywhere you look. Look up the YouTube video on the gardens. Mr Gibbs explains how he came up with the layout and how it came to be.

Tuesday, January 27, 2026

Santa’s M&M Cookies

This was the last cookie I made for the 2025 holiday season.  The main reason it was the last was I had to wait for the red and green M&M's to arrive in the stores.  Since it was the last made it is the last shared.  These are the classic M&M cookies.  You can change out the red and green ones for spring ones for Easter or red and pink for Valentine's day. Keep this recipe handy throughout the year. 

You could add some holiday sprinkles to the cookies as well. 
 
A very basic cookie dough.  You could use it for other things as well. 

Start with two sticks softened butter.
1 cup sugar and 1 cup brown sugar.
Mix those well.  You want it nice and fluffy. 
Add 2 eggs one at a time and mix well between eggs. 
2 teaspoons vanilla.  You can use regular vanilla, I use the vanilla paste.  I think it has a richer vanilla flavor. 
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda.  Mix all these well. 
3 cups all purpose flour.  Add a little at a time.  
Add 10 oz M&M's.  I used the mini M&M's since I make smaller cookies.  If you are going to make big cookies use the larger M&Ms.
All mixed and ready to scoop.  I did put these in the fridge for about 30 minutes to make it a little easier to scoop. 
Scoop out on a parchment lined cookie sheet.  Place in a 350 preheated oven.  Bake for 6-11 minutes depending on the size of the cookies.
Sample them while they are warm from the oven. 

Santa's M&M Cookies Recipe

2 sticks softened butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 bag M&Ms
3 cups all purpose flour
Bake at 350 for 6-11 minutes depending on size of the cookies.