About Us
Living the dream...
In l993, we sold a home nearby and moved to our 25-acre fixer-upper farm property. We named it Healdsburg Country Gardens which was a stretch of the imagination since it had mostly junk piles and weeds. It had a compound of four homes, two barns and 20 acres of unplanted farmland. Later, we learned that our grown children were holding meetings behind our backs discussing how we'd lost our minds buying this place! Now...they "get it".
We refurbished all three vacation rental homes. We added landscaping while preserving existing majestic oaks and redwoods. Luckily, long ago someone planted a cork oak tree in a perfect spot. Over a few years, we planted our vineyards. We did lots of work ourselves with family and friends pitching in. The redwood barn was built in l902--lucky us having this gorgeous barn. It is the focal point of our garden--it is perfect for gatherings with family and friends. Now, our family and friends say we "had the vision" ... we say "our wine country dreams came true."
Our three vacation homes are available all through the year. Our guests love staying on a property with vineyards that is close to Healdsburg Plaza. They want privacy and to experience the wine country lifestyle. We have a Use Permit for Special Events--May through October we host wine country weddings in our gorgeous event garden and barn.
Walt retired early from computer engineering to reinvent himself as a grape grower. We grow Sauvignon Blanc for nearby Rodney Strong Winery and for Ledson Winery in Kenwood. We have an acre and a half of Zinfandel for family wine. Walt gathered cuttings of old vine zinfandel from friends' vineyards and budded it on to rootstock. As a family wine maker, his learning curve continues. Barbara is a product developer and writer of products for K-6 students and teachers published by a variety of publishers. Now Barbara manages marketing, lodging reservations and is at work on a novel set in the wine country.
We can walk to Healdsburg Plaza in 20 minutes...our location is in the country but close to town. We enjoy the nearby wineries, shops and wonderful restaurants just like our lodging guests.
Healdsburg Country Gardens is our home and the best place in the world to wake up every morning. We count our lucky stars and know we are living the dream.
Barbara & Walt Gruber, Owners