Posts by Jenks Farmer
Spend a morning with 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 informal…
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…
Read MoreThe Compost Bin Structure That Iris Built
Iris is in her second year of internship on the farm. She’s a student at a nearby arts high school and she’s recently been accepted into a summer month-long writing program at Berry College near Rome Georgia. As a part of her winter project, she reviewed various compost bin designs, selected one, then built a…
Read MoreFarm & Flower Sunset Cruise
Take your shoes off for an end-of-the-day walk through the farm and garden. Join Jenks, Tom, and the farm and flower crews to get connected with the earth. Lots of lilies and lots of veggies will be ready, we’ll learn about them as well as soil building, farming, and connoisseur plants — with a glass…
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