Jenks Farmer & Wendy Hilty
Who in the world Is Jenks Farmer?
When I moved here and took the Master Gardener class, I heard the name “Jenks Farmer” constantly. Who was he and what was the big deal? When I finally heard Jenks speak at a Lowcountry Master Gardener symposium I learned what the big deal was. Jenks is probably one of the South’s foremost horticulturists and garden designers. His jewel is the Riverbanks Zoo Botanic Garden in Columbia where he was the first curator.
I met Jenks again at a garden symposium at Magnolia Plantation and we hit it off immediately as only “plant people” can. A year later I got an email from friends of mine who run a garden website out of West Sussex, England, called Garden Masterclass. Garden Masterclass offers online classes with the world’s most renowned gardeners and garden designers as well as live person to person garden tours in U.K. during the summer months. They wanted to have Jenks on one of their zoom talks, but were hesitant because they were not sure if they could understand a southern accent. Some Brits seem a little intimidated by the American South. I am not sure if they have watched “Deliverance” too many times or certain American TV shows and find this off putting. Regardless of their reasoning, I agreed to be their interpreter although Jenks certainly did not need one. It was a great zoom talk with Jenks live from his farm in Beach Island, South Carolina. My friends were very impressed with not only his horticultural knowledge, but his personal philosophy about gardens, gardening, and those who till the soil and plant the seeds both today and in the past.
Field of crinums
I was delighted in June when Jenks had an open house at his farm on a bright and sunny Friday. My husband and I ventured up north to Beach Island and found ourselves in a lovely part of South Carolina with rolling hills and hardwood forests. The farm dates back to 1750 with the original house still standing although it was “modernized” in 1850 to bring it to the style of that time. The many outbuildings have been rebuilt for safety reasons, but much of the original materials were reused. There is a “watch” donkey to keep armadillos and coyotes away and he periodically announced his presence with loud heehaws.
This is a working farm and Jenks and his crew grow many unusual perennials as well as their specialty – crinum
lilies. Crinums are a traditional southern pass-along plant. They grow from large bulbs and are found on just about every continent. They are a member of the amaryllis family and have many common names such as Swamp Lily, Cemetery Plant, and Spider Lily. They seem to thrive in our heat and humidity and are extremely tough. For years crinums were excluded from southern gardens as “poor people plants” and were only found in cemeteries and old homesteads. Seeking to disrupt this thinking Jenks selected crinums as the core collection at the Riverbanks Zoo Botanic Garden where he showcased these plants and demonstrated their ability to fit into a garden setting. Crinums’ thick leaves act as a foil for more delicately leafed perennials and the leaves stay green all year unless hit with a severe freeze. Then they do bounce back in a matter of weeks. On our farm tour, we walked through the crinum fields and marveled at the different varieties as well as colors that I had never seen.
Crinum
It goes without saying that I came home with several crinum bulbs and my husband found an unusual plant that “needed” a new home in our yard. When a nongardener wants a plant, you must definitely buy him that plant! He named it “Mr. Spikey” and it is flourishing.
After our tour of the fields, we had a farm to table lunch in the shade of massive pecan trees and a chance to talk to fellow plant enthusiasts. A tour of Jenk’s momma’s Garden followed with all of us wide-eyed at the color and diversity of plants and shrubs. We wandered among the outbuildings finding vines and flowers in seemingly every corner of the farmyard.
Jenks does sell his plants online and he has written several books that are worth a read. My husband, the nongardener, feels that Jenks is every bit the exceptional writer as well as talented gardener. We both love to read anything that Jenks writes. My day with Jenks took me from being someone who took crinums for granted to someone who has found enjoyment in this “Old Timey” Southern plant with its interesting history and quite lovely flowers.
