Gardening Extraordinaire James Farmer On Fall Colors, Family, and Inspiration

With winter holiday parties just around the corner any busy guy or gal could really use all the helpful decorating hints available. Ideas from how to make the perfect invitations, to planning a menu, to wrapping together a party theme from flowers to centerpieces are all essential elements to hosting the perfect idyllic party. Martha Stewart may be the queen of the Holidays, however new faces are always welcome to take up the challenge. Earlier this fall frequent SOUTHERN LIVING MAGAZINE contributor, and Georgian,James Farmer released his first garden and decorating how-to book A TIME TO PLANT (Gibbs Smith), and within the pages of this gorgeous book Farmer is able to masterfully weave his love of garden living into daily life. He hopes readers will take up the challenge to not only have a beautiful home for those Holiday parties, but also make it an active part of their lives. Recently, Farmer chatted with our Gwen Reyes about how he discovered gardening and decorating were his calling, tips for the gardening novice, and how he hopes people will embrace a love of stylistic gardening. Gwen Reyes (GR) : I was just looking at your October spread in SOUTHERN LIVING and I am in love with those pumpkin antler centerpieces. James Farmer (JF) : Aren’t those fun? I love the fall, it’s my favorite season. GR : Me too. How did you find that decorating was your calling? JF : Well I was born. (laughs) It’s one of those old debates about nature versus nurture. And honestly it’s my nature. I’ve always loved it. I grew up in a small town, on a farm, and it’s always been in my nature but my family nurtured it. They saw that I had this gnack for gardening, cooking, and decorating; they really encouraged it so it was something that was a part of me. I’m so blessed to do what I love. GR : It’s important to have a family that supports you… JF : Yes, they never told me what to do and not to do. They just encouraged me. My grandmother would help me cook and my grandfather would help me garden. My mother would help me with entertaining. The whole family was very much a part of my education. GR : You mentioned that fall is your favorite season. What are some of your “James Farmer” traits that you like to put into all your fall decorations? JF : Well, I love the color orange. And I love it in every shade. I love it in salmon, in coral, and in kumquat. All those shades are just so gorgeous in the fall; you see them leaves, flowers, and plants. To me orange looks so great with other fall colors, and the textural palate of it is just so fantastic. Fall is that time to celebrate the swan song of the season. GR : Being from Texas, those colors are not something we are used to seeing all the time. JF : I can remember as a child walking around our farm, and seeing the trees (dogwood or sassafras) start to turn a little bit until they popped with the colors. The progression of fall colors was just so encouraging to see coming to life each year. And, I just believe the fall is a southerner’s reward. GR : What inspired you to write A TIME TO PLANT? JF : I wanted to be able to take that knowledge my grandparents and parents gave me and be able to put it into today’s terms. The book is my platform and I wanted a go-to, tangible learning tool for my audience. So the whole series, which the book is just the first in, was part of that. GR : What are you hoping people get out of the book? JF : I hope that people smudge it with a little bit of dirt or get a butter stain on it because they tried a recipe or they tried a gardening tip. But I want people to be educated, inspired and entertained.