Margie Jenkins: In Memoriam

In the practice of plant propagation, a prerequisite is patience. An act both humble and godlike in its aspirations—to grow a new living thing—it takes trust, and it takes time. 

Over the course of her ninety-eight years, the Amite nurserywoman Margie Yates Jenkins nurtured gardens and gardens-worth of life. And she did so in generosity, always eager to share the fruits of her work with fellow gardeners, loved ones, and with the world. So that even with her recent passing on January 29, she leaves behind a world a little more alive because of her time in it.  

“She wanted the world to have these plants,” said Tracey Banowetz, a friend and former President of the Southern Garden Symposium. “Anyone who has been to her nursery will speak of the absolute treasure and delight it was to ride with her in the golf cart, listening to her talk so enthusiastically and passionately about the special things she was growing. And if she could tell you were interested, she’d have all the time in the world for you.” 

From her own little corner of the earth at Jenkins Farm and Nursery, Jenkins dedicated her life to promoting the use of native plants in the nursery industry. Her gardens overflowed with her efforts to preserve and propagate the wild plants she encountered along the Little Tchefuncte and surrounding areas. 

“She was always looking to grow something new or something different,” said Banowetz. “Even in native plants, she would see something in the wild that maybe had a slightly different form, a larger flower, or leaves with a slightly different shade of green.” 

For this work, Jenkins became recognized as a botanical authority in the region, and devoted much of her time to sharing her knowledge as a lecturer at conventions and groups throughout the South. She was a member of the International Plant Propagators Society and several other gardening associations across the state. Among her many accolades, in 2018 Jenkins became the first woman to be inducted into Louisiana’s Department of Agriculture Hall of Distinction. 

Though the earth will certainly miss her hands in its soils, Jenkins told her daughter, a few weeks before her passing, that she looks forward to bringing forth more life, even in death. That she looks forward to growing azaleas in the Garden of Eden.