Memories - grace grits and gardening

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.

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

a new twist on flower frogs

August 9, 2014 By Talya Tate Boerner

This is a frog in a flower.

via Chamomile @ morgueFile

These are flower frogs.

Note the differences. ◕‿◕

I’ve begun collecting flower frogs. (My mother, on the other hand, collects the amphibian sort in her bathroom on the farm—a whole other story.)

Vintage flower frogs are made of metal or pottery. They were originally used for flower arranging (very Ikebana). The frog holds the stems of flowers upright. Placed inside a shallow bowl filled with water (like a frog?), the flowers stay fresh and stand at attention. I put mine in a little creamer for demo purposes. Pretty cute I think, even though the picture didn’t turn out so great.

Flower frogs have become quite collectible (pricey), so if I can find an inexpensive one, I snag it. But instead of using them for flower arranging, I prefer to use them for displaying photographs.

The last few weeks I’ve been decluttering our house, preparing to sell it, preparing to move. The last thing I should be doing is buying something else to tote to our new house. Right?

Right.

Yet I was the highest (only) Ebay bidder on two new frogs. Less than five dollars, I couldn’t resist. They needed a new home, and luckily they will be easy to pack.

using flower frogs for displaying photos

(l to r) baby John, Kelsey blowing kisses, Momma and Daddy during courting days, Daddy’s elementary pic

I love love love this simple clean look. I can easily change out the photos, and there are no frames to collect dust.

The sharp pins hold the pictures in place. I especially like antique frogs with black and white photos.

Tell me, what do you collect?

Grace Grits and Gardening

Farm. Food. Garden. Life.

“The subject of the picture is always more important than the picture.”
― Diane Arbus

adventures in moving #1

August 7, 2014 By Talya Tate Boerner

I haven’t been writing or blogging much because I’ve been busy with moving adventures, cleaning and working on my mile long to-do list. Selling a house is backbreaking work. I wonder if anyone has ever died from such a thing.

Last weekend, we cleaned out our garage. Luckily on that particular morning, we had rare cool temperatures, the most pleasant August day in Dallas I remember in over twenty years. It was as though the city was trying to persuade us to stay. See, it’s not THAT hot… Yes, yes it is.

Garage cleaning was a huge project. In the twelve years we’ve lived here, our two-and-a-half car garage had shrunk to barely a one car garage because of the stuff. A sea of unorganized stuff. We dragged everything out, sorted, grouped, stacked, hauled off, etc. This picture doesn’t tell half the story.

Yes, we are the people who will be moving a hay bale from Dallas to Fayetteville. It’s all part of our autumn porch decor.

And speaking of Fayetteville, here is a sneak peek of our new (old) home. It has a wonderful porch too! I plan to be there in time to see the leaves turn.

Grace Grits and Gardening

Farm. Food. Garden. Life.

“Excuse the mess, but we live here.”
― Roseanne Barr

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