Simple Pleasures - grace grits and gardening

Bringing back the Sunday Drive…

May 7, 2015 By Talya Tate Boerner

Last Sunday, we went for an afternoon drive. A Sunday drive. I’ve heard this was once a thing. Back when Sunday activities were devoted only to church services and resting for the week ahead, the family packed up the Ford and set off for a pleasant drive through the countryside. Not a road trip. Not an errand. There was no particular agenda other than to spend time together enjoying what the day would bring. In our crazy, busy lives, I think we should bring back the Sunday Drive. It should be an official thing again.

Like Sunday pot roast. That should be a thing again, too.

I’ve been thinking about what makes a good Sunday drive. A specific destination isn’t a requirement. But good music on the radio and plenty of warm sunshine adds to the pleasure. And maybe there’s food. A stop at a roadside diner or a picnic lunch? Okay so maybe this idyllic plan isn’t realistic for every weekend, but once a month? Definitely!

Our recent Sunday drive included a visit to Chotkowski Gardens, which is an incredible peony farm. With over 800 herbaceous varieties and 200 tree varieties, Henry Chotkowski’s farm is bursting with peak-season peony blooms. (Herbaceous means the plants have non-woody stems that die back at the end of the growing season. Tree means, well, more like a shrub.)

Pink. Red. White. Yellow. Apricot. Lavender. A three-acre field of perfume.

Chotkowski Gardens, 16142 Pin Oak Rd, Fayetteville, Ar

Typically, Chotkowski sells peonies in the spring. Customers walk through the gardens, choose a peony to buy (how on earth, I’m not sure) and pick up rootstock later in the fall for planting. Unfortunately for us, this year his peonies aren’t for sale. For reasons I’m not completely clear on, he’s taking the year off… Waaah! He promised me that he will be selling again next year.

Boy, there’s nothing like being unable to buy one, that reallyreallyreally makes me want one… availability/desirability…there may be something to that.

These pictures do NOT do justice to the up close and personal blooms.

This red beauty (below) was one of my favorites.

This gorgeous yellow peony looks like tissue paper.

I honestly thought I would remember the names of these peonies. Ha.

The truck in the picture below is the perfect reason to go on a Sunday Drive. You never know what treasures you will find along the way. Treasures within treasures.

Peonies in the background…

If you live in Northwest Arkansas and are looking for the perfect Sunday drive, Chotkowski Gardens is open from 1:00 to 5:00 each afternoon during season (beginning of April through end of May). Even though you can’t buy this year, it’s worth the short drive from Fayetteville for the simple pleasure of strolling through and admiring the beauty.

And guess what? Mother’s Day is 3 days away! Chotkowski Gardens hosts a Mother’s Day Open House annually which includes displays of cut flowers, a bit of peony history and more. This year’s event is Sunday, May 10, 1:00 – 4:00. Read more about this year’s event HERE.

Grace Grits and Gardening

Farm. Food. Garden. Life.

[tweetthis]Who wants to go for a Sunday drive with me? #MakingMemories #SundayDrive #WeeklyVenture [/tweetthis]

Musical Pairing:

Groovin’, The Young Rascals

under the influence of Spring!

April 9, 2015 By Talya Tate Boerner

If only this post came with 3-D vision and a smell plug-in. No kidding, this place I live is park-like. I’m under the influence of spring and savoring every moment. Come with me and see for yourself. I took these pictures via iPhone while walking Lucy and Annabelle. The colors are unretouched.

You might say, oh no, here she goes again, all she does is post pictures of flowers. So yeah, that’s true for now, and isn’t it wonderful? If that’s not your thing, well… sorry (#notsorryintheleast #whatswrongwithyou).

Our neighborhood is alive and vivid and every bloom is a thrill to the senses.

Phlox spills over old stone walls. Tulips thrive in slivers of soil.

I’m a kid in a candy store.

Until we moved to Fayetteville, I never knew that tulips could be perennial. What an amazing thing. I’m certain tulips NEVER came back in Dallas. (Read what A Green Hand has to say about planting bulbs for a more natural garden HERE.)

I plan to luxuriate in every drop of spring. Soon, summer will come bringing long hot days, warm nights and blooms that thrive only in the heat. And I’ll like that too, but it will be different.

Grace Grits and Gardening

Farm. Food. Garden. Life.

[tweetthis]I’m under the influence of #spring & luxuriating in every drop! #gardening #fayetteville @AnnSandersagh[/tweetthis]

Musical Pairing:

Elle King – Under the Influence

the Colors of Easter

April 3, 2015 By Talya Tate Boerner

iris

I recently told my friend Laurie that my dream job would have been working for Crayola, specifically naming the crayon colors. Since I was a kid, everything about crayons fascinated me from the fresh smell of the wax to the way something so simple could transform a plain piece of paper into a refrigerator-worthy work of art. A new box of Crayons with the colors lined up sharp and perfect, or an old coffee can filled with broken stubs and unraveled wrappers—I’ve always loved them all.

Since my Crayola dream job has long been taken (I checked their website) and the crayons have already been christened, I decided to match up crayon names with the soft colors of Easter. It’s something I automatically do while walking the dogs. Those daffodils popping up everywhere? They come in various Crayola shades including canary, unmellow yellow and sunglow.

During this Easter season, Fayetteville is bursting with blooms. Pastels as soft as spun sugar. Tufts of fresh green grass begging to hide a dyed egg. The color of someone buying me an ice cream cone for no reason at all (Lemony Snicket). Happy, happy colors.

Easter is such a gift. A gift I don’t deserve.

Outrageous Orange

Banana Mania

Spring Green

Goldenrod

Inch Worm

Cotton Candy

Carnation Pink mixed with Wild Strawberry

Razzle Dazzle Rose

Blue Violet

White

If you are a Crayon nut like me, here are a few fun facts from ColourLovers.com:

Crayola crayons currently come in 120 colors;
An average of 12 million crayons are made daily;
The average child in the U.S. will wear down 730 crayons by her/his 10th birthday;
The first box of Crayola crayons was sold in 1903 for a nickel and included the same colors available in the eight-count box today—red, blue, yellow, green, violet, orange, black and brown.

There’s nostalgic goodness in every box of Crayons. Sometimes that’s just what this world needs. Especially at Easter.