Posts by Jenks Farmer
DeSoto’s Silver
Tommac Garret is local, well, recently returned to Beech Island, potter who told me this “When Desoto came up the river, he saw white in the cliffs along the Carolina side and thought it was silver — that’s why the area is called Silver Bluff.” He also told me all this other amazing history of…
Read MoreMe The Model
I’m one of those people who hates photos of me. But it’s happening. There’s one on this page I don’t mind but generally, ugh. Couldn’t someone have told me to buckle my belt? Lots this morning. the only good one was of Lorraine Clark……Here she is, with a single Nigella flower.
Read More20 Tough Plants for Parking Lot Gardens
For 80 years this was a parking lot. Can we reclaim, plant, green up even a little fringe of the space? It’s a tough spot. Days often reach just over 100 F which means asphalt surface could be about 140F in the daytime. That stresses many plants. Even plants that can tolerate that but need…
Read MoreSharing The Soul of the Place
We had our last Crinum Field Party this past weekend. Now, the place can get a little messy and we’ll focus on production crinum to ship next summer. We get to put our hands in the rich dirt, to pull up some of those deep rooted plants and strengthen our own roots too. And…
Read MoreLux Light
Diversity
I picked up a glossy book of gardens designed by Miami guy — spectacular things; theatrical sets full of creativity. And I thought, wow, I could never have a book on my garden designs like this. They are too diverse, they’d look silly in a book —- a little tiny yard, a parking lot, a…
Read MorePic’s from the Lily Farm
Morning Break? Is Re-shooting Photos a Break?
For a number of days of the last ten, I’ve been sequestered inside. Re writing. The editor at Timber Press sent back my manuscript for a final edit. Well, 32 pages and about 40 hours of edits. Done. Great edits. He said, ‘I’m trying to help you say what you want to say, more clearly.’ …
Read MoreWe Built a Barn with Daddy’s Wood
Daddy left barns full of wood. Last night, I slept on the screen porch, totally surround by him. The barns are a source of frustration for me. Messy, sliding, tumbling, old boards might have been stacked one day. Now they’re an inefficiently, stored reminder that he’s not here for them and that I can’t do…
Read MoreThe Mechanics of Life
There’s a term I remember from the putty-green workrooms of Clemson’s agricultural building. I overheard from the hall, a professor, teaching floral design say something like, ‘You get it right with wire and tape and picks and then you hide those things, you hide the mechanics of flower arranging. He should have used a different…
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