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Our crepe myrtle show.

August 12, 2014 By Talya Tate Boerner

The first year we lived in our house, we planted a crepe myrtle in our front yard. To make an impact right away, we bought a decent sized tree, large enough that we couldn’t carry it home in our car. The guys from the nursery delivered and planted it on Thanksgiving Day which we thought was strange timing. Of course because of that, we never forgot the day it joined our yard.

Unfortunately, our crepe myrtle was always a poor performer. She never bloomed very well.

Until this summer.

our crepe myrtle

Of course this summer, the summer we decided to move, our crepe myrtle is putting on a gorgeous show with heavy hot pink blossoms visible from both our downstairs and upstairs porches.

Maybe she’s happy because of this summer’s below normal temperatures (and by below normal I mean 95 degrees instead of 105 degrees).

Or perhaps our above average rainfall is responsible for her enthusiasm.

Maybe she’s doing her part to improve curbside appearance, trying to help us sell the house?

Or maybe she’s just saying goodbye as we prepare to walk away.

the view of our crepe myrtle from the upstairs porch

view from upstairs porch

Grace Grits and Gardening

Farm. Food. Garden. Life.

Musical Pairing:

Zac Brown Band, As She’s Walking Away

 

 

Cotton and Okra. Kissing Cousins.

July 16, 2014 By Talya Tate Boerner

Did you know cotton and okra are cousins? The plants are botanically related from the same scientific family Malvaceae.

The veined leaf shapes are very similar with a reddish purple spot at the base of each petal.

okra and cotton = cousins!

The blooms are similar too.

okra and cotton blooms

The final product!

okra and cotton - related plants!

One fills our bellies, the other covers our bellies. I love both!

Grace Grits and Gardening

Farm. Food. Garden. Life.

Musical Pairing:

Alabama – Song of the South

Garden in Summer

July 9, 2014 By Talya Tate Boerner


Summer in Dallas

Summer has arrived in Dallas. As we flirt with 100 degrees, the air lays blanket thick over my garden. Yet even with hot, hot temperatures, bright colors and fresh smells fill Promise of Peace Community Garden. Cucumbers and okra are taking over my bed. I harvest tomatoes, eggplant, ginormous basil, spinach, and swiss chard. In my neighbors’ plots, pumpkins, cantaloupe and honeydew grow heavy on the vine.

Here are a few pictures I snapped this week.

my giant basil

 

Eggplant

 

swiss chard

 

roma tomato

 

pumpkin

 

melon

A beautiful, hot place.

Grace Grits and Gardening

Farm. Food. Garden. Life.

Frozen, In Summer

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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 (2022)

THE THIRD ACT OF THEO GRUENE (coming 2025)

Recent Ramblings:

  • Sunday Letter: February 22, 2026
  • Our Garden Mission Statement
  • Goodbye, 2025. Hello, 2026.
  • Sunday Letter: 11.23.25
  • Maggie and Miss Ladybug: My New Children’s Nature Book

Novels:

Coloring Books:

Fiction-Themed Coloring Books

Backyard Phenology:

Children’s Nature Book:

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