James Farmer on the Today Show tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Correction: I'm watching now and figuring that the Today Show is not live. Always thought it was live. Shows you what I know. James' appearance will be at 9:43 for everyone.

Hey friends of the Farmer, it's SB here. I'm popping in to inform you that our very own JTF III will be on the TODAY SHOW tomorrow. You read that right. Teasers start at 9:30 am eastern time zone and James' segment will start at 9:43 or 9:44. Don't miss it. This is huge. For you central time zone folks like myself that's 8:43 am.

I will be proudly watching, wearing my yoga pants with my 4th cup of coffee in hand. I've never had a better excuse to sit around and watch the Today Show all. morning. long.

James at Today Show practice this afternoon. Swiped this from his facebook wall.

Go James.
Excited for ya!

The Marshes of Glynn

“…Of the dim sweet woods, of the dear dark woods,

 Of the heavenly woods and glades, 

That run to the radiant marginal sand-beach within 

The wide sea-marshes of Glynn;-- …” 

Live oaks, Spanish moss, myrtle, palmetto, sweet, Spartina and cord grasses woven with ephemeral sunlight that melts colors into muddy jewel toned hues – coastal Georgia’s marshes stir my soul.  

Not the first nor the last to wax and wane on these storied marshes and not the first Middle Georgia boy either to do so: Sidney Lanier did, oh so eloquently, in a fluid body of words reminiscent of the marshes cadence themselves. “The Marshes of Glynn,” one of Lanier’s most notable works, is a love song to the swansong of Georgia’s rivers journey to the sea and the purely organic moment said waters meld, meet, swarm, sway, and thus lace together forming these storied marshlands. 

Wellheads in the cool, clear mountain streams, then trickling from Lower Appalachia to, in turn, wind their way through magnolia strewn red clay midlands, through loamy drifts of southernmost Georgia even through sweet Vidalia soil, Georgia’s rivers carry their silt laden waters to the sea – offering their watery bounty to the ocean in caches of coastland and estuaries of evolution.

Smells, colors, textures, flora, and fauna all abound from the Low Country of South Carolina to the First Coast along St. Augustine, with Georgia’s Golden Isles as the epicenter of Dixie’s southeastern marshland. As I’ve been down on St. Simon’s and Sea Island this week for a photo shoot, I’m instantly inundated by my love, obsession, connection, and delight in these marshes – the indescribable colors, their soulful tidal lurches, the golden yet silvery yet copper toned light all at once – who’s very presence and palette are rejuvenating and inspirational enough to recharge my sense of being.

I’m wanton for wetlands and on par with Mr. Lanier’s love of the land and his exultation of Nature’s religious rhythm. On this very dawning of autumn, I’m finding myself surged with energy anew not only from nostalgia for pumpkins and mums, but for the crisp, cool breezes perfumed with sulfuric yet sweet aromas of the Marshes of Glynn. 

“…And now from the Vast of the Lord will the waters of sleep 

Roll in on the souls of men, 

But who will reveal to our waking ken 

The forms that swim and the shapes that creep 

Under the waters of sleep? 

And I would I could know what swimmeth below when the tide comes in

On the length and the breadth of the marvellous marshes of Glynn.”

Guest Post: a Book Review

Hello dear friends of the Farmer!

It's Sarah Barry from Spoonful here. I'm guest posting today to tell you about James' FABULOUS new book, A Time to Plant.

I've known James a long time. We were friends at Auburn. He was a groomsman in our wedding. We've traveled the Southeast together on numerous trips in college and post college. Most recently, we carpooled to my home town of Greenville, Mississippi for James to speak to the ladies' garden club --- my two year old son and nursing baby in tow. JTF III is a trooper!

So of course I'm thrilled for my friend, that at the whopping age of 28 he has written and published his very own book. A real book! It sits on my coffee table, and I can't wait to tell all my guests that "Yay, my friend wrote that book."



But I must admit that prior to receiving my copy, I thought "Can it really be that good?" After all, I wasn't getting this information for the first time. I've heard James speak at multiple events, read and re-read each blog post, seen all his photos, discussed with him basic garden philosophies in person, photographed some parties he's given. Honestly, I thought that I would have a 'been there, seen it, done that' mentality when it came to experiencing his book. I hate to admit this, but I was concerned that I would be underwhelmed.

But my experience was much the opposite. I was stunned. Thrilled. Completely enamored from the moment I saw the cover. For one, the book itself is beautiful. The photography on each page is breathtaking as well as the drawings and illustrations.

In the dedication James references the hymn "For the Beauty of the Earth." I love the last lines of the chorus:

"Lord of all to the we raise 

This our hymn of grateful praise."

This book is just that - a hymn of 'grateful praise' to God's glorious creation.



The second thing that struck me about A Time to Plant is it is so incredibly practical. On occasion, James has asked for my input about his blog. To which I always respond by encouraging him to explain things so the po' folks can understand. How can I, a busy mother of two, who can't even find time to take a shower, begin to dabble in a little gardening? And entertaining? Where do I start? Do I grow herbs? How? Do I plant perennials? But which ones? And what time of year do I plant them?

Y'all, it's all in the book. James gives the most practical instruction and advice about garden living, a concept he describes as bringing the garden in - to your cooking, your home decor, your relationships - and making the most of each season. And he presents it all in a way that is charming and fun to read. I can't say enough good things.



Get this book for yourself, your mom, your mother-in-law, your husband - everybody who's anybody needs a copy. I have no doubt it will become a legendary go-to guide for Southern gardeners and entertainers for years to come.



James, thank you for sharing your time and talents with us. You are a wealth of knowledge and expertise.