grace grits and gardening

ramblings from an arkansas farm girl

Passalong Plants in the Garden

By

Passalong Plants

Passalong plants are the BEST sort of plants to have in your garden! They add both charm and magic wherever they are planted.

I started thinking about this last week when my neighbor thinned out her bed of Solomon’s Seal (Polygonatum odoratum) and gave us several plants. I’ve been wanting to grow Solomon’s Seal for years but had not gotten around to buying and planting it.

I’m not kidding when I say my husband and I saw it growing in the neighborhood that very morning, admired it, and talked about adding it to our shade garden.

Voila! Just like that, a bucketful showed up on our porch.Continue Reading

Sunday Letter: 04.05.2020

By

sunday Letter

Dear Sunday Letter friends,

I hope everyone is doing okay on this Palm Sunday. For me, this last week went by quickly. But March lasted a freakin’ EON. Probably because we are now living in the Twilight Zone.

Yesterday, winter returned to northwest Arkansas. Mid-30s with a cold rain. Um, no thank you. Really, it was like winter said, “You know, you ought to stay inside, grab the Lemon Pledge and give your tabletops a swipe. Maybe do some laundry?”

So I did.

“No moral, no message, no prophetic tract, just a simple statement of fact: for civilization to survive, the human race has to remain civilized.” The Twilight ZoneContinue Reading

Sunday Letter: 03.29.2020

By

Sunday Letter

Dear Sunday Letter friends,

I barely slept a wink last night. Before I went to bed, I made the mistake of reading too many first-hand coronavirus accounts from doctors around the world. One comment in particular gnawed at me. A doctor in Italy said if you could see the truth about the virus, you wouldn’t even stick your head out the window.

Yikes.

If that wasn’t enough to keep me awake, a monstrous tornado ripped through Jonesboro, Arkansas yesterday afternoon. I have friends and family who live in Jonesboro. I believe they are safe, thank goodness, but the devastation to the city is widespread. And I wonder if the Bat Cave is still standing this morning.

Seriously, it’s as though the entire planet is majorly ticked off at her humans.

Writing makes me feel better. Pulling worries from my mind and jotting them down on paper truly helps. Try it.  I think it’s important to record our thoughts and routines on a daily basis, particularly now. A hundred years from now our great-grandchildren will read our words and marvel that we hoarded toilet paper and sewed masks for nurses. Whatever happens with this global health and financial crisis, one thing’s for sure—history is being made.

Continue Reading

Food. Farm. Garden. Life.

THANKS FOR READING!