Posts by Jenks Farmer
Talking Out of One Side of Their Mouth
Yesterday, I listened intently for some of those crazy things old men say that makes us young ones roll our eyes. With one cousin and one uncle though, I was among the old men. I thought I’d get one funny old man quote. No such luck. I did get this from an old neighbor, ““At…
Read MoreMore Than Useful Plants of the Cherokee
I spent all day yesterday in a symposium on Cherokee and the landscape. 12,000 years of history — each speaker with a focus on how Cherokee used, manipulated, cultivated and unintentionally impacted soil, water, terrain, and particularly plants. Alfie Vick, from University of Georgia and Karen Hall from Clemson were the most plant based of…
Read MoreMums, Turnips, Dirt & Writing Make Me Happy
Dr. Jim Waddick and I have never met. But he’s been a mentor in ways and he’s supplied me with some killer plants and garden connections over the past twenty years. Today, on Facebook, he asked me to explain a picture I’d posted, this picture of me and turnips — ‘Write!’ he said, ‘Explain why…
Read More“Wastage of soil…a menace to the national welfare”
My great grandfather lived in this house called Gravel Hill. He bought this failed plantation about 1890. It never really thrived, limping along as they took in boarders and sold off land till the ’70s. They grew cotton that pulls tons of minerals from the soil. After years of cotton growing, even if you fertilize…
Read MoreShade Changes You Won’t Notice for a While
Morning after the hurricane party and the excitement. Green light, made by sun coming through massive oak trees leaves; they’re all in the wrong places. Turn your head sideways but the light is and air is, still different. I remember chainsawing with my Daddy on top of little old ladies house, a tiny tar-paper house…
Read MoreGardens in Charleston & Columbia
What’s the difference between Preservation & Conservation (on a Mountain Reservation)
Tom and I had the pleasure of going to this amazing, formerly private estate that’s been set up as a botanical garden. Elegant. Sublime. Designed with the spirit of the place. Fit into nature, Southern Highland Reserve is open once a month but you could see it on Nov. 12 for their very cool sounding…
Read MoreOn Recycling (which often means downcycling)
“Blindly adopting superficial environmental approaches without fully understanding their effects can be no better—and even worse—than doing nothing.” from Cradle to Cradle: Rethinking the Way We Make Things, by William McDonough & Micheal Braungart
Read MoreThanks for Planting Pecan Trees
On this chilly, foggy Sunday morning, I’m making rounds, checking out what the fellows got planted, how many pounds of nuts got cleaned and making a mental list for Monday morning. Those working guys leave clothes everywhere this time of year; a hoodie over the fence and a flannel shirt pegged to a tree trunk.…
Read MorePlants without Plastic Pots
Worried about all those plastic water bottles? Think about your gardening life too and ask, why do new plants have to come in plastic pots? They don’t. Some plants don’t even like plastic pots — so you can’t even buy them in nurseries. I love potless-plants because they’re easy, cheap, they have stories and because…
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