MARGIE JENKINS

There is always an air of excitement at the Jenkins Farm & Nursery located just east of Amite, Louisiana.  Early in the morning, landscape contractors, retail nursery buyers, and numerous types of "plant people" wait for the gates to open.  Seldom late, Margie Jenkins arrives and greets each person with a "Good morning," a smile, and an occasional bug, then she opens the gates.

Margie is a charter member of the Louisiana Chapter of the Azalea Society of America, which was founded in 1982.  Most nursery growers in the 1970's were content with growing just a few of the "tried and true" cultivars of Azaleas, Margie was actively growing and testing many different groups of Azaleas.  Although she has many "favorite" Azaleas, she will admit that her all around favorite group is the Robin Hill hybrids.  Some of her favorite deciduous Azaleas are from a cross that she made in the early 1980's between Rhododendron canescens and R. pericylmenoides.  These seedlings, now approximately six to eight feet tall, have flower colors ranging from dark pink to lavender pink.  Recently, Margie has rooted cuttings from these selections and hope to have plants available in the near future.  One plant that Margie has named is TCHEFUNCTE, a beautiful light pink strap-petaled form of R. canescens that Margie named after the creek that winds through her property.  Although she loves Azaleas, Margie collects and grows a broad spectrum of plant species.  She is well known for her knowledge of native plants and is very active in numerous native plant societies.

Margie is very active in numerous horticultural organizations and societies, has held or is presently holding various offices such as board of director member for the Azalea Society of America and Senator of the Louisiana Division of the American Nursery and landscape Association.  She has received many awards and achievement plaques from numerous organizations.  She is a very interesting and much sought-after speaker and is active in the "politics" of the nursery industry.

One of Margie's most pleasurable pastimes is collecting, growing, and evaluating many different kinds of plants.  She loves to grow plants from seed and see what variations occur.  Many horticultural groups tour her nursery and are amazed with the wide diversity of the nursery stock.  Margie is a generous host and serves a tasty and satisfying meal at such occasions.  Everyone has a enjoyable time and usually leaves with more plants than they can carry.

If you ever go with Margie on a tour of nurseries, botanical gardens, or any horticultural event, you had better bring along your good walking shoes.  Once we were on a tour of gardens in the Washington, D.C. area, and it was raining heavily when the bus stopped at the next garden to be toured. Margie was the only person that started preparing to get off the bus.  As she was exiting the bus, she handed me a disposable rain poncho and chuckled, "I've traveled too far not to be able to see this place.  Let's go."  It is always a pleasure to travel with her, as she always turns even the most negative situation into a positive one.

In March 2002, Margie and I went to Callaway Gardens, located in Pine Mountain, Georgia, to attend a memorial service for Fred Galle.  We decided to leave early in the morning so we would not be too rushed; however, before we had even stared, we spent about an hour admiring the native Azaleas that were in full bloom at her nursery.  As we traveled along the way, the yellow pitcher plants, Sarracenia alata were in full bloom on some burned-over land in Mississippi.  We needed to drive slowly so we could admire them.  A little farther down the road, just east of Wiggins, Mississippi, the Buckwheat plants, Cliftonia monophylla, also known as Titi Plants, were in full bloom, so we decided to look for a unique form.  We saw many other plant species along the roadside that drew our attention, so we took our time and enjoyed the ride.  Margie has a long list of close friends in the nursery industry, and we visited with several of them in the Semmes, Alabama area that day.  The conversation between Margie and Tom Dodd was fascinating as they reminisced bout the changes that had take place in the nursery industry over the years.  Needless to say, it was late in the evening before we left southern Alabama, and we still had several hours of driving before we would arrive in Pine Mountain; however, the conversation was very lively as we discussed plants and "plant people" throughout the long drive.  Margie talked about her trips out of the country where she had toured gardens and looked for new plant material.  She thoroughly enjoyed seeing new places and meeting people.  She also talked about the foot & mouth disease that was affecting the livestock while she was in England, and also the horror and heartache she felt after the terrorist attacks while she was in Washington, D.C. on September 11, 2001.  It was way after midnight by the time we arrived to our destination, but the time passed so quickly.  It was absolutely a wonderful trip that I will always remember.