Posts by Jenks Farmer
Historic Columbia Members Only Plant Sale Sept. 28 4-6 p.m.
The crew will be on hand to share our love of these special plants. We’ve tried to pick plants with South Carolina connections and of course, plants that thrive in our zone. This is a members-only sale but you can join now and get to come. Our plants are priced at a great value. We…
Read MorePineapple Lily, New York Times, and A Way to Garden with Margaret Roach
You can skip to various links in this story. 1. NY Times article on Pineapple Lily. 2. Our podcast discussion of pineapple lily or 3. Our shopping page for pineapple lily bulbs. Even as a teenager, I had penpals. Some of them, I still know. One became a famous horror writer. After adulthood and emails…
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Spend a morning with a band of young artists on the lily farm. We’ve asked these local, Augusta high school artists to share their works and vision. They’ll be all over the farm, showing, selling, talking, and learning. We’re also pairing them with renowned ‘mentors’ from Columbia — so they can build networks and have…
Read MoreSnowflakes or Snowdrops Bulbs that Outlast Us and Pretty Things Up for Folks that Come Later
I imagine he wore a fedora. One passed on or left accidentally by some traveler. His wife, the cook, the kitchen manager asked him to do it. Her kitchen, 100 yards from the house, revolved around a roaring fire. Like other outbuildings on the farm, it’s a practical, white, box of a building designed to…
Read MorePlants make our medicine, our arts, our breath and our utilities…..
This story was published in Augusta Magazine, May 2022.
Read More5 Seeds to Plant Now To Feed Your Soil & Soul in the Fall
Anticipation steeps on the farm. We, or maybe just me, are drawn to watching over our new seedlings as they mature into strong plants. I keep watch under the moonlight. I lend a helping hand to secure the grappling tendrils of a young Hyacinth Bean vine. Sometimes I go to this dark and mysterious place…
Read MoreProtozoa, nematodes, micro-arthropods, worms, and oh, by the way, I’m Kevin, the new guy on the farm…..
Do you remember the first time you grew a plant from seed? Maybe it was a veggie, a flower, even a tree! Maybe its shape, size, color, texture, or smell might ring a bell. Or the memory of seeing the whites of your Mother’s eyes when you pulled what you thought was a weed…
Read MoreCarolina Vanilla Leaf
Years ago, my mentor, Bennett Baxley told me of his move to Bluffton, South Carolina. In the 50s, this tiny coastal village on the salty marshes of the May River struggled. A few wealthy folks kept quiet summer houses. Like poor people everywhere, folks looked to the wild for sustenance and income. With gunny sacks…
Read MorePlanting Trees. Building Ponds. Listening Fathers.
Realizing a vision often takes decades. We’re lucky to have been on board from day one, helping our client clarify and now create a vision for a farm that’s been in the family for generations. The first phase, constructing a planting a lake and a cypress pond that’s meant to look like a naturally occurring…
Read MoreMoths & Me. Lured In By An Ancient Cycle of Milk & Wine Lily Variation
When two individuals of the same plant species cross-pollinate, the seeds and resulting plants vary in size, flower color, petal shape, and even vigor. That variation among individuals, good for people and animals too, ensures adaptability and continuity of the species. Variations bring flexibility and strengths. Over hundreds of millions of years, some plants…
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