grace grits and gardening

ramblings from an arkansas farm girl

  • Home
  • Bio
  • Publishing
  • SHOP!
  • Garden
  • Food
  • Reading & Books
  • Sunday Letter

I had a God week.

October 5, 2015 By Talya Tate Boerner

I had a God week.I try to avoid certain topics on my blog, especially the two biggies that get people all riled up—religion and politics. But today? Today, I’m giving a shout out to God. My higher power. My spiritualism. Because I had a God week‚ an in-your-face, hey-don’t-forget-about-Me sort of God week.

And I’ll tell you why.Continue Reading

You might be a gardening geek if…………………. (monarch metamorphosis!)

September 28, 2015 By Talya Tate Boerner

you might be a gardening geek if...

You might be a gardening geek if...

  • when you find a Monarch chrysalis, you plaster the news over social media;
  • you are convinced if there is one, there must be more so you crawl around on your knees in the mulch along the house and fence searching for other Monarch chrysalises—and you were right(!);
  • you read everything you can about the process, all the way to the last page of the internet;
  • you postpone travel plans because your Monarchs are likely to emerge during the time you would be gone;
  • you photograph your chrysalises several times a day (more often than you photograph your dogs) to monitor changes even though there don’t appear to be any;
  • you might even talk to them;
  • on the morning that two of your chrysalises begin to show true signs of metamorphosis, you skip an all day writing class because what if they are born while you are gone?;
  • you head straight to Westwood Gardens where you ignore the giant containers of fall mums in favor of more milkweed, your new favorite plant;
  • when you return, TWO OF THE MONARCHS HAVE BEEN BORN!

Continue Reading

Butterflies for the Win!

August 7, 2015 By Talya Tate Boerner

attracting butterflies to your gardenSince moving to Fayetteville, I’ve been working to attract butterflies to my garden. I’m happy to report, my game plan is working. I have lots of little white cabbage butterflies, and earlier in the spring I noticed a giant swallowtail caterpillar. The swallowtail recently made her appearance. swallowtail butterfly

Here’s another beauty. Butterflies are fast, and my camera is not.

fast swallowtail!

I saw our first monarch, too!Continue Reading

« Previous Page


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: 11.23.25
  • Maggie and Miss Ladybug: My New Children’s Nature Book
  • Sunday Letter: November 9, 2025
  • Sunday Letter: Oct 26, 2025
  • Sunday Letter: Oct 5, 2025

Novels:

Coloring Books:

Fiction-Themed Coloring Books

Backyard Phenology:

Children’s Nature Book:

Never miss a blog post! Subscribe via email:

Looking for something?

Categories

All the Things!

A to Z April Blog Challenge Autumn BAT Book Reviews childhood Christmas creative writing prompt Dallas Desserts Fall Fayetteville Food Gracie Lee Halloween Hemingway-Pfeiffer holiday recipes home humor Johnson Family Keiser Lake Norfork Lucy and Annabelle Mississippi County Mississippi Delta Monarch butterflies Munger Place Nana nature Northeast Arkansas Northwest Arkansas Osceola poem Reading Schnauzer simple living simple things spring spring gardening Summer Talya Tate Boerner novel Thanksgiving The Accidental Salvation of Gracie Lee Thomas Tate Winter Wordless Wednesday

Food. Farm. Garden. Life.

THANKS FOR READING!

All content and photos Copyright Grace, Grits and Gardening © 2025 · Web Hosting By StrataByte