My inspiration Mondays - My mother-in-law, Judy

You know how some people seem to fit 48 hours into every 24-hour day? My mother-in-law, Judy Abrahams, is one of them.

Judy not only teaches at Te Puke High School full-time, runs her church Youth Group, regularly babysits grandkids and does a myriad of other things for friends and whanau, but she also grows and maintains the most amazing property, full of fruit trees, vegetable gardens and flowers. She's the kind of person who will get up at 5am  in winter to weed her garden, before heading off to teach maths for the day. And her garden thanks her for it.

We just spent the weekend at Judy's house, where she fed us homegrown vegetables picked straight from her garden, apples and pears that were espaliered against a fence line by my late father-in-law, Wayne Abrahams, and distilled water, free of chlorine and other chemicals. It all felt so good. 

I love Judy. She's the best mother-in-law I could imagine. And although I don't hold out hope of ever achieving the kind of garden she has, it's still nice to dream. Here's a wee snapshot of Judy's property:

My husband Paul, our niece Sarah and our nephew Jack playing mini golf on the lawn. 

The pink garden.

Judy's main vegetable plot, in line of sight from the kitchen.

Stack loads of veges. 

My husband, Paul, and our niece, Danika, enjoying cherry tomatoes straight from the vine. 

Danika eating cherry tomatoes while her Nanny Judy picks broccoli. 

Silverbeet and beans.

Corn standing tall.

Grapes.

Espaliered apples.

Espaliered pears.

Grapefruit and orange trees.