Jenks Farmer & Friends Field Trip!

Saturday, June 13^th, Beech Island, SC, Augusta, GA, Aiken, SC

We’re heading back to visit plantsman and author Jenks Farmer and friends, including Georgia Perennial Member Bonnie Thurmond, again this year! Read more about Jenks and Bonnie: Jenks in conversation with New York Times garden columnist Margaret Roach about his new book Secrets of Southern Gardening, Garden & Gun's story about Jenks's crinum business, Jenks's recent induction into the South Carolina Academy of Authors Hall of Fame, and Jenks's friendship with Bonnie.

We'll meet Saturday morning at 10:00 AM at Jenks's farm in Beech Island, SC, where we'll tour the farm and gardens and have lunch. There will be ample time to buy crinums and other plants, and books! From there we'll head to Augusta to Green Court, the former Governor's Mansion, where the current owners will give us a tour and fill us in on their renovation of the historic gardens designed by famous Boston landscape architect Rose Standish Nichols in the early 1900s. We'll end the day at Bonnie Thurmond's garden. An avid, lifelong gardener, Bonnie downsized in 2020 just before her 80th birthday, and with Jenks's help, started a new garden on an essentially empty lot. Don't expect it to be the same as on our last visit. Bonnie and Jenks have continued their collaboration, and there is no plan to stop!

On Friday afternoon, we'll have a special opportunity to pick up plants in person from now-online-only Nurseries Caroliniana. This is plantsman and Georgia Perennial lecturer Ted Stephens's nursery, famous for rare, unusual, and hard-to-find plant species. We'll visit the renowned specialty nursery Woodlanders, now revitalized under new ownership. We'll meet with the owner and staff for a talk and tour, followed by shopping of course! After a break and just before dinner, we'll visit Sandhurst, a Gilded Age Mansion, where Jenks is currently renovating the gardens. 

We'll overnight in historic Aiken, SC, the famed winter resort of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, known for its rich equestrian culture, historic, walkable downtown, and Southern charm. There's plenty to do in the area for those who want to spend the weekend.

Choose to join us on Saturday only, spend the night and take advantage of all the offerings, or spend two nights and explore Aiken more fully! Get all the details and sign up to join us here, and stay tuned for updates as the plans develop!

To purchase a ticket for the farm visit, click here.