Delicious Gardens is a gardening enthusiast’s destination for edible and indoor garden supplies. It specializes in aeroponics; aquaponics; hydroponic micro-garden systems; vegan, organic and “brew-your-own" nutrients; coconut fiber-based growing medium; micro-garden climate-control systems; honeybee-keeping supplies; educational books; DVDs; and growing experiments for kids.

The objectives of life partners and owners Tom Myers and Indira Y. Fermin are to provide the community with the best-quality products for growing and harvesting their own produce, and to provide educational materials and a collaborative environment where gardeners of all ages and skill levels are welcome.

Myers is a lifelong gardener, horticulture enthusiast, landscape designer, honeybee keeper and artist, while Fermin is a former director at a Fortune 500 company who, with her partner's help, reconnected to her roots and returned to the world of nature, picking up where her great grandmother left off.

“The idea of Delicious Gardens traces back to a couple of challenges we faced in late winter 2013,” shares Fermin. “Tom’s annual physical showed that his cholesterol was elevated, and I was working on a merger that required constant attention. The stress level that came along with the around-the-clock support was taking a toll on my overall health and well-being.”

To address these challenges, they made a few lifestyle changes, such as replacing the typical lunch menu of pizza and sandwiches with salads and grilled protein; quitting drinking soda; and getting more active. Through the spring, summer and early fall, they also tended their container gardens, which provided stress relief and the ability to harvest delicious produce for their salads. However, once the long winter took hold, they had to once again consume greens from the grocery store, which were not as tasty as the harvests that the container gardens provided.

“This is when we decided that it would be a fun experiment to grow our own greens in the kitchen,” recounts Fermin. “We did our research and put together the basic components for an indoor garden. Finding the proper components and nutrients for indoor gardening was an adventure in itself, since the local garden centers didn’t specialize in year-round edible indoor garden supplies.”

The benefits of tending to their micro-garden and the increased amount of light exposure provided the desired results, not to mention delicious greens for their salads. “Our micro-garden also became a topic of conversation,” says Fermin, “and it quickly became evident that the benefits of our little experiment could reach out beyond our salad plate.”

The “aha moment” happened mid-winter when one of Fermin's co-workers asked, “If you can grow a lettuce in your kitchen, can I turn my basement into a farm and grow my own produce?” “Yes, it is absolutely possible to grow delicious produce and harvest year-round at home,” she answered.

“Every aha moment requires an opportunity to trigger it into action,” points out Fermin. “The opportunity showed itself in the form of a reorganization that gave me the freedom to choose the next path to take in life. With Tom’s knowledge and my curiosity, it was logical that by working together we could create something greater than we could independently, and that as luck would have it all of the pieces were in place for Delicious Gardens to be created.”             

They spent the spring researching demographics and scouting various potential locations. All of their research pointed toward their own Bedford Hills neighborhood, in Northern Westchester. “We noticed more and more front yards turning into vegetable gardens, and realized that once the gardens went dormant for the winter that there was a gap that we could fill,” says Fermin.

 “Delicious Gardens is now a reality; Tom’s cholesterol levels are normal, without having to take medication; and I’m thrilled to have found my way back to my heritage.”

Delicious Gardens is located at 180 Rt. 117 Bypass Rd., in Bedford Hills, NY. For more information, call 914.864.1400 or visit DeliciousGardensNY.com.