grace grits and gardening

ramblings from an arkansas farm girl

  • Home
  • About
  • Media
  • Crafts
  • Farm
  • Food
  • Garden
  • Reading & Books
  • Sunday Letter
  • SHOP!
  • Privacy Policy

Climbing Roses: How to Train Them

May 9, 2019 By Talya Tate Boerner 7 Comments

Climbing Roses. How to Train Them

In our garden this spring, I’ve been training my climbing roses. They are still learning to follow directions, so technically that makes them trainees. So am I. Believe me, I am NOT a rose expert by any stretch of the imagination. But we are fast learners. Today I’m gonna show you our process.

Early last fall, we planted two climbing roses (their names are Rosie and Daphne) at separate ends of our rock wall. Other than planting them, we pretty much did nothing to them all winter, other than we made sure they had water. A few months later, before they began putting on spring growth, I started training them using a process called pegging. Pegging works rather well, especially in a small garden space. And the best thing about pegging your roses is that blooms will increase significantly.

Roses want to be good garden citizens. Some varieties need to be taught.Continue Reading

To all the mothers who make the world go ’round…

May 12, 2017 By Talya Tate Boerner 10 Comments

Mother's Day roses

Dear all you mothers who make the world go ’round,

Yesterday as I cut roses from my garden, I was reminded of Mother’s Days past. How we, my little sister and I, wore a tiny red or pink rosebud to church that day. Momma wore red too, but because she was an adult in charge of things like money, she bought hers at the flower shop in town. Her corsage, a full grown rose, came in a clear plastic box with a long straight pin attached to the back for fastening to her dress. Nana wore a corsage of white gardenia, her favorite, each petal as soft as velvet, its perfume so strong and sweet that forty-five(!) years later, yesterday, when I walked past a gardenia bush at Westwood Gardens, the aroma pulled me over and vaulted me back to Brinkley Chapel. Just like that.

Gardenia from Westwood Gardens

Nana wore a white flower because her Momma, my great-grandmother, died years before I was born. And even though I never met her, I’ve known her my whole life.Continue Reading

Rain and Roses

March 10, 2013 By Talya Tate Boerner 4 Comments

Roses, hungry and bare,
Of blooms, I fertilized only hours ago.
Saturday’s clouds brought drizzle, an
Even, soaking rain. Sunday morning
Surprise—rose buds smiling in the wind.

“It is the time you have wasted for your rose that makes your rose so important.” 
― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince

talya

Musical Pairing:

Sweet Dreams, Eurythmics

Next Page »

Talya Tate Boerner


Hi! I'm Talya. 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 (Now Available!)

Click to BUY NOW!

Talya Tate Boerner books
Gene, Everywhere

Never miss a blog post! Subscribe via email:

Receive my not-very-regular Newsletter?

Most Popular Posts…

  • Nana's Strawberry Cake (the real one)
  • Yum Yum Cake - old southern recipe!
  • Ozarkansas Tool Library!
  • Black Apple Crisp
  • Rusted Ford Trucks (a short story waiting to be written)

Most Recent

  • Sunday Letter: 01.15.23
  • Sunday Letter: 01.08.23
  • Sunday Letter: 12.18.22
  • Sunday Letter: 12.11.22
  • Sunday Letter: 12.04.22

Prior Posts

Search Categories

Tags

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

Food. Farm. Garden. Life.

THANKS FOR READING!

All content and photos Copyright Grace, Grits and Gardening © 2023 · Web Hosting By StrataByte