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Gardening, Writing and Making Enchiladas.

March 31, 2015 By Talya Tate Boerner 11 Comments

Gardening, writing and making enchiladas will keep a girl busy.

Gardening, writing and making enchiladas will keep a girl busy. My mother (aka The Bat) thought I had either croaked, lost my phone, or dropped it in the toilet because she had texted me several times over two days, and I hadn’t responded. I hadn’t posted on Facebook or blogged either.

First of all, I never received the texts because of a mysterious change in my iPhone settings. How does that happen? Anyway, after a bit of research, I fixed it without a call to AT&T (which would have severely cut into gardening, writing and making enchilada time, for sure). Yay me.

As far as being absent on social media, I’ve been on a self-imposed schedule that involves a) working on my book in the mornings, and b) gardening in the afternoons. And yes, I did make enchiladas the other day, but more on that later. So here’s an update. The book? I think it’s going well, but it’s taking longer than I expected. That’s mostly okay by me because when I’m done, well there’s the whole finding-a-publisher-thing which is way harder than breathing life into dead pansies.

And the gardening? You already know it’s one of my most favorite things to do in this life.

Here are a few of the plants John and I bought at Westwood Gardens, my go-to local (Fayetteville) garden center. A trunk full of plants leads to an afternoon well spent.

What I've been planting and doing.

One of the things I did yesterday was attempt to spruce up our front porch pots. After the snow and ice, last fall’s pansies were soggy and shriveled and looking rather pathetic, BUT since the pansy growing season in Fayetteville is soooo much longer than Dallas, I decided to revive them instead of throw them away. I dug them up, trimmed the dead leaves, added more soil, and replanted them with snapdragons and asparagus fern. The pots look much happier now, and I believe the pansies will make a recovery.

Believing is an essential part of gardening.

Before and After Spring Pots

End of Winter (left pot) / Beginning of Spring (right pot)

 

Here’s another before and after shot showing my pansies going from pitiful to perky.

Before and After front porch pots. Reviving my pansies.

Check out this cute little succulent. This one is named “Pig Ear”. Perfect for Razorback land, don’t you think? I put him in one of our most unique pots, a container we purchased at Redenta’s in Dallas. (It was handmade by an Arizona artisan whose name I don’t know, or I’ll tell you.)

Pig's Ear Succulent

My sister-in-law gave me lots of irises, day lilies and onion sets from her yard! “Dig up whatever you want,” she said. Now that’s a gardeners dream, right? Receiving plants from someone else makes the world even more special, and some of these plants originally came from my mother-in-law’s garden which makes me happyhappyhappyyyyy.

Iris from my sister-in-law's garden.

I planted a row of them along our rock wall. This is a hot spot, so they should flourish.

Planting Iris

Others I planted around this boulder (along with phlox).

Spring planting

So where does making enchiladas come into this story? I made a big platter of chicken enchiladas last weekend using an old favorite recipe from my Baylor Cookbook (recipe tweaked a bit and coming later, maybe). We ate supper outside around the fire pit while enjoying the beginning of spring.

Chicken Enchiladas + Cilantro Rice

This is an Arkansas meal. Chicken enchiladas made with Tyson chicken + Riceland rice.

 

Thank goodness, gardening burns calories:)

Grace Grits and Gardening

Farm. Food. Garden. Life.

[tweetthis]Trunk full of plants + belly full of enchiladas = perfect day. @Redentas @TysonFoods @RicelandFoods #WestwoodGardens[/tweetthis]

Musical Pairing:

Travis Tritt – It’s a Great Day to be Alive

Filed Under: Arkansas, Food & Recipes, Gardening, Nature & Seasons Tagged With: chicken enchiladas, spring, spring gardening, Westwood Gardens

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Comments

  1. Barbara Tate says

    March 31, 2015 at 8:59 am

    Now my day can get started: I have read your blog. I never could get yesterday started because you didn’t, blog, that is. Loved your step-by-step of your new yard. I can’t wait to see it. It is looking so good.

    Reply
    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      March 31, 2015 at 9:09 am

      Thanks! It is so wonderful to have a big enough yard to work in. I can’t wait for you to see it too.

      Reply
  2. Lyn Fenwick says

    March 31, 2015 at 9:50 am

    Great analogy regarding marketing a manuscript. Should it make me feel better that rejections are not form letters and contain praise for my writing? So far, my “gardening” has consisted of pulling weeds from the grass I sodded last year. It is mostly hen bit so it pulls easily. I pull as I walk to and from, so my trips back and forth from carriage house to house to barn to car to wherever take a while! Your flowers look lovely…much prettier than my piles of pulled weeds.

    Reply
    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      April 1, 2015 at 7:28 am

      Yes, anytime a rejection includes real feedback is positive. It’s just a matter of time for you Lyn. I believe that!

      Reply
  3. Colene says

    March 31, 2015 at 8:37 pm

    It’s a great day to be alive!

    Reply
  4. Amanda Farris says

    April 1, 2015 at 7:49 am

    Shared on Twitter! I love gardening and enchiladas as well! Been working in the flower beds all week! Ready to plant some goodness!

    Reply
  5. Sarah Shotts says

    April 1, 2015 at 10:50 am

    So ready to get out in the garden! Excited about having fresh herbs and veggies to cook with. 🙂

    Reply
  6. Gail Hannah Griffith says

    April 1, 2015 at 11:36 am

    What is the deep dark purple flower? In the Westwood Garden box between the Asparagus Fern and pansies. Very pretty. I like!

    Reply
    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      April 2, 2015 at 9:50 am

      Gail, it is a succulent called a Swartkop. I’ll send you a picture of the garden tag (via Facebook).

      Reply
  7. Dorothy Johnson says

    April 1, 2015 at 2:00 pm

    Your yard is going to be fabulous! My pansies have perked up in one bed, another needs a little help. Good post.

    Reply
  8. Katharine says

    April 2, 2015 at 12:02 am

    Love that AZ pot! And love fiddling in the dirt, too. Great post! As always!

    Reply

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Hi! I'm Talya Tate Boerner. Writer, Reader, Arkansas Master Naturalist / Master Gardener, Author of

THE ACCIDENTAL SALVATION OF GRACIE LEE (2016)

GENE, EVERYWHERE: a life-changing visit from my father-in-law (2020)

BERNICE RUNS AWAY (Now Available!)

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