"Gardening adds years to your life and life to your years." ---- Unknown
While I wasn't able to identify the author of this quote, linking longevity and gardening, he must have made the acquaintance of nonagenarian Jim Smelley of Lucedale and Moss Point, Mississippi. At ninety-eight years of age, he is living proof. And it was my good fortune to meet the venerable gentleman in the spring.
Between you, me, and the fencepost, I initially wasn't all that jazzed at the prospect of the journey to George County, Mississippi, not that far from the Alabama line. But my husband Rodney was determined to go, mapping out the trip planned by our Northshore Camellia Club --- with renowned Jim Campbell at the helm --- and convincing me to join him on the two-and-a-half-hour excursion.
I would be remiss if I didn't mention how tickled Rodney was that his Professor Charles Sargent and Dr. Tinsley placed second and third, respectively, in the novice category in the Northshore Camellia Club show in January.
So, he had been looking forward to the garden tour, which admittedly appeared promising, for weeks. The Camellia Club field trips always have been fantastic --- we spent the weekend at Albania Mansion (near Jeanerette) owned by Dr. Terry and Liz Creel; traveled to the Creels' exotic farm (near Poplarville, Mississippi); and toured Allendale (in Woodville, Mississippi) owned by Bruce and Karen Lewis. Every season brings a new, exciting adventure. And this one turned out to be all that and more.
Arriving on the 15-acre Smelley spread in Lucedale, we were overcome with awe from the get-go. The azaleas and live oaks beckoned, down the long lane. With other members of our camellia club --- Dr. Terrence and Dana Truxillo of Franklinton were among them --- we were invited to roam the florid property and examine the extensive garden.
It wasn't until I entered the second of three prodigious greenhouses that I was summoned by Hunter and Meg Charbonnet, founders of the club, to join owner Jim Smelley for a tour of his fantastic property. He was already at the wheel of his golfcart, raring to go. They didn't have to ask twice --- I hopped right in and away we went. It was then that my real education, and appreciation of the garden and him, began.
Mr. Jim opened our conversation about camellias with, "It's a great social thing as well as the common denominator --- flowers." And he should know. His place was teeming with them.
But first, I wanted to know more about Mr. Jim. Born and raised in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, in April of 1928, he was nearing 98 years old at the time of our ride.
A U. S. Navy veteran, serving in 1946 and 1947, he wound up in Moss Point, Mississippi. And it's a good thing for it was there he found not only his life's work, as a maintenance mechanic for International Paper, but also his bride.
Mr. Jim married his beloved wife Elaine Wright, the daughter of Merrill Alford Wright and Macie Robinson Wright, in 1954. According to her husband, she was "born and raised in Moss Point and I never got her out of there." But he did get her to accompany him to Lucedale, about thirty miles north, where they bought their picturesque piece of property in 1992. While they never lived there, it evolved into their magnificent garden. The couple made it their business to be there every day they could.
Having lost his wife in early 2013 --- she was 83 --- Mr. Jim now makes the trip without her. He acknowledged Debbie Smith, a retired nurse and friend, who kindly helps him, and Bertin Reyes who faithfully works full-time for him. They are a good team. Mr. Jim's pretty place --- the garden --- is a testament to that. According to him, "This is what I do for a hobby."
First, there were the vegetables --- the string beans, collard greens, and peppers --- he grows. And innovative, Mr. Jim has turnip greens, squash, cucumbers, and tomatoes, coming up in the center of hay bales. The heirloom Mortgage Lifter tomatoes are supposed to be good, he said, much like the Red Pontiac potatoes. Mr. Jim likes to eat the potatoes with white sauce on them. Apparently, the little ones are the best. A generous invitation, "You should come back when they come in." With twenty-five pounds of seed potatoes here and another twenty-five pounds there, there should be plenty of taters.
Then, we were on to the citrus orchard --- kumquats, red navel oranges, and satsumas. Mr. Jim grafts the citrus much like he does the flowers. The garden was replete with amaryllis, daylilies, Louisiana Iris, sun coleuses, and pansies, among others. When I asked Mr. Jim how many daylilies he had, he explained that it's sort of like money. When folks know exactly how much they have, they don't have all that much. So obviously, we did not get a daylily count.
Next came the camellias. We were, after all, with the Northshore Camellia Club. Mr. Jim's generosity extends to all the Camellia Clubs --- Mobile, Pensacola, and Mississippi Gulf Coast, in addition to ours. All have been to his place to graft, including our Northshore Club President Jim Campbell, and Jim Smelley also grows camellias for the clubs, donating them for sales. He roots cuttings with growth cycles on them, called liners in the trade. A special camellia he and his wife Elaine developed and registered is the Elaine's Betty. Famous in the South, much like Mr. Jim, it is a gem. An expert, I watched him identify, without hesitation, a camellia cutting for Club member Barbara Moore --- it was Betty Ridley.
He then drove us under the canopy of trees, ranging from holly to poplar and oak to pine. Oh, and the pecan. He had rigged a metal ring around the trunk of the pecan trees to deter the squirrels. Mr. Jim has devised several terrific set-ups -- automatic water system, fertilizer house, stand-up potting bench, and rich homemade potting soil.
Wrapping up, Mr. Jim announced, "I've got one more thing. I want to show you my fertilizer." And then he revealed the formula. Gee, I hope I got this right --- two sacks rabbit pellets, one sack milorganite, one sack cotton seed meal, one sack 17-6-10 fertilizer, and five pounds calcium nitrate. He informed us, "We mix it all up and that is what we feed with." My better half is using it, going forward.
Disembarking from the golf cart, Mr. Jim concluded, "Now you know the whole story." And I wouldn't have missed it for the world.
Hindsight is always 20-20. What a Mississippi marvel --- Mr. Jim, nice as pie, and his magnificent garden! And some of his clever methods can be employed at our farm in Washington Parish. Rodney is already brainstorming.
