The Dolly Lemon
Our Journey
As engineers and healers, we (Tim and Derylin) found the garden to be more than a place to grow food—it became our sanctuary where life's biggest questions found their answers among the rustling leaves, wildlife, birds, and rich soil. We discovered the garden as a place of meditation, where the rhythms of planting and harvesting connected us to something deeper than ourselves.
Our Vision
Our vision bloomed in the Ozarks, with Tim's environmental engineering expertise and Derylin's nurturing spirit (18 years raising our family before returning to occupational therapy) creating the perfect foundation. Our travels through the South's historic gardens and farms opened our eyes to how deeply gardens, land, food, and community intertwine to create rich tapestries of culture and tradition.
Inspired Gardens
Launched in August 2024, Inspired Garden Life is our way of sharing the profound connection between gardens, community, and mindful living. Through our apparel, we celebrate not just the act of gardening, but the way it teaches us to listen—to the earth, to each other, and to the quiet wisdom that surrounds us when we pause to pay attention.
Making 100+ Years of Impact
One Shirt, One Tree
Every design we create carries our vision. Through our partnership with Eden Reforestation Project, each purchase plants a mangrove tree in Kenya, extending our garden's impact far beyond our backyard.
Mangroves sequester up to four times more carbon than rainforest trees while providing critical wildlife habitat and preventing coastal erosion.
What Sets Us Apart
On-Demand Production: We print each shirt only after it's ordered, eliminating the waste of overproduction that plagues traditional fashion.
Ethical Supply Chain: From sustainably grown US cotton to WRAP-certified manufacturing facilities to eco-friendly water-based inks, every step considers people and planet.
Mindful Designs: Our apparel celebrates gardening not just as a hobby but as a way of being in relationship with the earth.
100+ Years of Impact: Each mangrove tree we plant will sequester approximately 600 pounds of CO2 over its growth life, with many living beyond 100 years. These remarkable trees store carbon four times more efficiently than rainforests, with their extensive root systems trapping carbon in soil for centuries.
Our Values
Mindfulness & Growth: Gardens as places of meditation and connection
Environmental Stewardship: Making choices that include consideration of their impact on the planet and our great grandchildren's future
Creativity: Taking what is on the inside and risking it by placing it outward and expressing your unique relationship with nature
Quality: Creating lasting products that reduce consumption
Community: Building a tribe of like-minded earth stewards
Join our growing community of mindful gardeners.
—Tim & Derylin
Founders, Inspired Garden Life