grace grits and gardening - ramblings from an arkansas farm girl

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

Strawberry Pot Succulents

April 7, 2015 By Talya Tate Boerner

We’ve had a recent string of gorgeous days which has provided lots of gardening time. And once I get started…well, it’s an addiction. Check out this strawberry pot I found at the back of our property near the wood shed. I’m all about found objects.

If you don’t already have a strawberry pot, I bet someone you know has one sitting around collecting water. I tend to believe that strawberry pots are one of those “good ideas at the time” sort of things. Why else would I find one in the woodshed? If you can’t score a free one, pick one up at your local garden or home improvement center. There are a variety of sizes and styles available on-line, too, from basic terracotta to hip and modern like this one at Crate and Barrel.

I decided to plant succulents in my strawberry pot. Succulents are easy to grow and come in lots of varieties and shades. Plus, many are perennial. I love the bright green color of this Japanese Stonecrop sedum as well as any blooming flower.

Japanese Stonecrop

Our schnauzers helped. This would be a great project for kids, too:)

Annabelle removed all the tags while Lucy was in charge of sniffing and hiding the plastic containers around the yard like Easter eggs.

For a different look, I decided to place my strawberry pot on its side. This meant less holes to fill. I learned the hard way to partially bury the pot before beginning to plant. My pot rolled to the edge of the bed. Runaway pot. There’s a joke in there somewhere.

strawberry pot filled with succulents - how to

whoa there! runaway pot…

The best way to plant a strawberry pot is to add potting soil up to the first hole. Carefully thread the first plant into the hole (from the outside) and add more soil inside until the plant is secure. Add the next plant and repeat the process. Continue planting in tiers until each (visible) hole is filled. I planted a larger, trailing succulent on top, which turned out to be the side.

I love the way this sideways buried container has integrated immediately into our (barely planted) herb garden. Eventually, when the bed matures, the strawberry pot will look even more like a natural part of the landscape. Plus, the dogs can’t knock it over, so there’s that.

Happy gardening!

Grace Grits and Gardening

Farm. Food. Garden. Life.

[tweetthis]A fun, child-friendly #garden project-Strawberry Pot Project! #letsgarden #gardenchat @Monrovia [/tweetthis]

Musical Pairing:

They Might Be Giants – Birdhouse in Your Soul

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.