Review
Georgia's James T. Farmer III keeping state 'in the news' and moms 'in the know'
On Saturday, May 11, just one day before Mother's Day, James T. Farmer III was nowhere near North Georgia, but the acclaimed author, gardener, floral and interior designer--who also happens to be a cook and table-to-garden lifestyle expert--was still influencing moms there that day. In fact, he was influencing two moms, and he didn't even know it.
As the Douglasville Patch was reporting on Saturday that the upcoming Hydrangea Festival in Georgia was just around the corner, the Atlanta Top News Examiner and her mother were making their way through an estate sale looking for the perfect hydrangea vase to use for Mother's Day.
Hydrangeas just happen to be one of the favorite flowers of James Farmer, who says in his A Time to Plant book that when it comes to flowers, "there is hardly another family of flowers that can be cut, dried, arranged and enjoyed more than the hydrangea clan."
This Atlanta writer's mother would agree with him, which is why she was insisting on displaying her blue, purple and green blossoms for her Mother's Day lunch guests on Sunday. But she needed the right vase for them, and she found it.
When it comes to hydrangeas and the right vase to use for them, James Farmer might be something of an expert. However, it appears from the attention he is receiving in the media that he knows a lot more than how to grow, display and arrange hydrangeas.
In fact, so far in 2013 the Georgia boy has published another book (his fifth), titled A Time to Cook, he has appeared on Paula Deen's "Paula's Best Dishes," which aired in April on The Food Network, and--in advance of Mother's Day--he was asked to offer Mother's Day table tips to WAGA-TV viewers on Fox 5's "Good Day Atlanta." And the year isn't even half over yet.
If you didn't watch Farmer's Fox 5 appearance you might be interested to learn that he used hydrangea flowers in his floral bouquet for his Mother's Day table decor example. So mom feels vindicated in her own choice!
Next up for the savvy seasonal lifestyle expert is a presentation at the Magnolia Springs Garden Club luncheon one week away, on Tues., May 21, at 11:30 a.m.
The editor-at-large for Southern Living magazine will be talking about A Time to Plant at the one-day event in Alabama, but the garden club will also hold a book signing afterward, so guests can also purchase A Time to Cook books, which he will be glad to sign as well.
(Smith Radell
Examiner.com 20130513)
From the Inside Flap
To everything there is a season . . . a time to plant, and a time to harvest. Whether you are a novice dirt dabbler or a well-seasoned gardener, timing is crucial in gardening. And with proper timing, nature provides us with not only sustenance but trimmings for the home and table, provisions for a garden lifestyle.
Garden living, or weaving the garden into your daily life, is a lifestyle filled with rewarding promise and new adventure. Harvesting your own vegetables for a dinner party, arranging your own garden-grown goodness in a bouquet, or entertaining within the garden provides the gardener, cook, and decorator alike an opportunity to meld these talents into a harmonious blend for garden living.
A Time to Plant is a guide to garden living-an invitation to walk through the garden, see the possibilities of its bounty, smell the perfumes that abound, taste the produce, and hear the symphony of nature. With photographs, tips, and methods, A Time to Plant will become your guide to a successful gardening way of life.
From holidays to every day, the garden can be your source of all things fresh and elegant. Sprigs of mint in your iced tea and lemonade, hydrangeas gracing your tablescape, mantels and halls decked for the season, and a kitchen filled with garden flavors-all are a part of a garden life, garden living, and life well lived.
Hailing from the peach-laden fields and muddy river portion of Middle Georgia, James T. Farmer III, is president of James Farmer Designs, which specializes in residential landscape design, floral design, and interiors. James graduated from Auburn University.
As a native of the Deep South and enthralled with all things Southern, James was influenced by great Southern architects as well as antebellum architecture, having been influenced by the land and flora of his family farm-an old plantation in Kathleen, Georgia, just outside of Macon, complete with rock walls, boxwood parterres, and European influences. Summering on Sea Island also dictated a touch of that particular coastal style in his work. His design practice is about bringing the classicism of the past to the needs of modernity. Find him at www.JamesFarmer.com.
