DEL.ICIO.USMARTHA TATE
Designs suit impatient generation
Thursday, January 15, 2009
When I was 24, I went to San Francisco to seek my fortune. The first interview the Sallie Walters Employment Agency sent me on, I was asked: “Exactly what do you want out of a career?”
I went totally blank. I didn’t have a clue. I think I answered something vague like, “I’d like to help other people.” Needless to say, I didn’t get the job.
James Farmer III
Large, lush container plantings, a well-defined border and the use of artemisia, rosemary and boxwoods characterize James Farmer’s garden designs.
MARTHA'S PICK
Mexican Bush Sage
Botanical name: Salvia leucantha 'Midnight'
About the plant: Velvety purple spires appear on this bushy, 4-foot-tall plant with grayish green leaves. 'Midnight' is also known as 'All Purple' and, unlike the species, has no white in the flowers. In Atlanta, Mexican sage is at its most glorious August through October.
Use in the garden: One of James Farmer's favorite plants for large containers and showy borders.
Planting and care: Plant in spring in full sun and well-drained soil. Treat as an annual in Atlanta.
Source: (for sale in spring) Ashe-Simpson Garden Center, 4961 Peachtree Industrial Blvd., Chamblee, 770-458-3224.
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James Farmer would not have failed such an interview question.
The Middle Georgia native grew up on a farm and from an early age knew he wanted to work with plants. At 26, Farmer, a third-generation Auburn graduate who majored in horticulture and landscape design, has already established himself as a serious designer of gardens and interiors with clients all over the South.
“I can’t remember a time that a love of beauty was not part of my life,” says Farmer. “My mother tells of the lines of mini-Dixie cups on windowsills filled with the trappings of my foraging in the garden and woods as a child — everything from dandelions to berries. Nothing has changed. Even now, I have pansies, parsley and lichen-covered sticks in julep cups in my den. I always have to have compositions of cut and potted flowers in the house.”
I asked James what he thinks is different about today’s young designers.
“I am a product of a very impatient generation,” he says. “With so much information and accessibility at our finger tips, I am afraid that it has infiltrated into my perspective on the home landscape. My clients want something quick. I use plants like ‘Powis Castle’ artemisia, rosemary, ferns, lush annuals, big pots and hydrangeas (‘Nikko Blue’ and ‘Limelight’) to give me that instant garden.”
But Farmer emphasizes that a garden should be well planned, with room to evolve. He insists on the establishment of the bones of a garden (i.e., good hardscapes, hedging, rock borders). Following are some of his thoughts on building a landscape:
“My advice is to be realistic but to dream big at the same time. For example, if young clients in their 30s have only a ‘bed line and pine straw’ budget, then I would encourage these elements:
• “Sharp, well-defined beds with clean, beautiful mulch. That says more than having one of this plant or three of that, with no order.
• “Rosemary is a favorite perennial that has turned out to be extremely useful. It’s evergreen, fragrant, a culinary delight and easy. It’s not meant for just the herb and kitchen garden; use it for foundations, accents, pots and winter interest.
• “A garden should be for all seasons, not just an explosion in spring, but a symphony throughout the year, with crescendos and solos and ensembles — a whole production.”
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