Jim Wilson Puts Down Roots

Celebrity Gardener And Former Host Of TV’s “The Victory Garden” Reflects On His Green Career

By Jennifer Lindsay Smith
Photos By L.G. Patterson

It’s April, and Jim Wilson’s daffodils are in full bloom. The fest of yellow, white, tangerine and orange is a fitting kickoff for a new growing season that promises an ever-changing kaleidoscope of color in Wilson’s garden.
Indeed, the most important thing to know about Wilson is that he is a gardener. It’s a passion that became a career, leading him to become one of the most recognizable gardening faces on American television, an accomplished author and sought-after speaker.
Not surprisingly, this is a man who views the soil as a living, breathing organism.
Now, having just celebrated his 84th birthday, Jim enjoys spending his days with his sweetheart, Janie, at their home on the eastern edge of Columbia.

Humble Beginnings
Although Wilson enjoys ornamental gardening, he’s even more passionate about food gardens. It’s a way of life for Wilson that dates back to his childhood in Vicksburg, Miss.
“Growing up with a market garden in Mississippi, we all had to help,” Wilson says. “Between the age of 8 or 9 until I was 15, I helped with every crop we produced.”
Living on a farm and maintaining a food garden sustained Wilson’s family through the very challenging economic times of the Great Depression. His father was out of work for six years, so gardening became a key to survival.
“The market garden we had kept us alive,” Wilson says. “Mother put up everything she could can.”
Wilson remembers peddling black-eyed peas door to door with his two brothers. They would sit up at night to shell the peas and then sell them for 15 cents a quart. “It was a lot of work, but back then, a dollar a day made a big difference,” Wilson says.
During World War II, victory gardens were a common sight that Wilson remembers well. Usually located in the front or side yard, these food gardens were an integral part of a homeowner’s landscape.
After returning from service in the U.S. Air Force after World War II, Wilson became the first in his family to go to college. He started at Arkansas Tech University and then transferred to the University of Missouri in Columbia. In 1948, Wilson graduated with a B.S. in general agriculture and an emphasis in soils, having compressed a four-year degree into 2½ years.

Fast Forward To 2009
Wilson has spent more than 56 years working professionally in the horticulture industry. He has authored numerous books, including Landscaping with Wildflowers, Landscaping with Herbs, Bulletproof Flowers for the South, Jim Wilson’s Container Gardening, and Gardening Through Your Golden Years. In 1995, Wilson was inducted into the Garden Writers Association Hall of Fame.
His engaging smile became a familiar sight to gardeners across the country during his 10-year tenure as co-host of the PBS series, “The Victory Garden,” the longest-running American gardening television program. Wilson is also a former co-host of HGTV’s “Great Gardeners” series.
Wilson has lived all over the country, moving to six different states during his horticulture career. “I managed to grow a garden in each of those places, except Texas, where we lived near a national forest and our place was overrun with deer, raccoons and armadillos,” he says.
His two sons, Steve and Chris, couldn’t escape the gardens, given that they were always surrounded by flowers and vegetables.
“One day, when Steve was about 4 years of age, I looked out at the vegetable patch and he was whacking my summer squash plants with a stick and saying something like ‘Bad bug!’ ” Wilson recalls. “Turns out, he had spotted some squash bugs and didn’t want them to eat the squash. Did a pretty good job of shredding the plants before I could get to him!”
Steve now takes pleasure in keeping his landscape beautiful, while Chris is involved in food gardening. Both live in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Return To Columbia
In 2002, Wilson made the decision to leave South Carolina, his home for 20 years, and return to Columbia. The reason? Janie Mandel.
Wilson met Mandel years before when he gave a talk for Kansas Public Television and she attended a party thrown in his honor. It was the beginning of a friendship generated in part by their mutual interest in gardens and gardening. Over the years, their friendship grew into a romance.
“After a few years of correspondence, she said ‘If you don’t come out here, we’re going to have to call it off,’ ” Wilson remembers with a smile. “I sold what I could, packed the rest in my truck, and drove out here with Mr. Boots.”
Mr. Boots, Wilson’s gray and white cat, seems to have adapted well to the change in scenery.
Now Wilson and Mandel share an 1840s log cabin overlooking a scenic pond with a bridge crossing to an island. The acreage features a prairie garden, ornamental plantings, and an 800-square-foot vegetable and herb garden. They named their place “Friendship Farm.” Mandel’s keen eye for design shows in the extensive landscaping.
Wilson is looking forward to their favorite season – late spring. “It’s when the iris and peonies are at their very best,” Wilson says. “The whole garden is one big mass of color.”
Wilson continues to work in the gardens. After all, a gardener never truly retires. Admittedly, he enjoys assistance from Jeffrey Dobbins, who Wilson says serves as his “right arm” and is as close to the embodiment of an English estate gardener as one can get.
For Dobbins, it’s been a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to work side by side with a horticultural giant.
“I love telling people I’m Jim Wilson’s gardener,” Dobbins says. “But if I gave myself a title, it would have to be ‘student.’ ”

A Renewed Mission
While admittedly cozy in Columbia, Wilson hasn’t forgotten the economic realities the United States is currently facing. In fact, he’s very concerned.
He has completed the manuscript for his latest book, Reduce Your Food Bills: Plant a Recession Garden. Wilson’s goal is to convince ornamental gardeners to grow more food crops, to bring back the days when fruits and vegetables were an essential part of a home landscape.
At a time when food prices are increasing and an economic recession scores major headlines across the country, Wilson says food gardening is a close-to-home answer for those looking to decrease their grocery bills and help those in need.
His own words best convey his thoughts on the subject:
“… Nothing can match the fulfillment that can come from keeping every square foot of your garden in production all season long,” he writes. “Nothing can keep a big grin off your face when, just after harvesting a huge crop of vegetables and fruit, you visit a grocery and see what you would have had to pay for the same amount of produce grown by someone else, somewhere else. Nothing can match the humility that will touch you when, just after you have delivered a load of homegrown vegetables to a food pantry, you see a family provider taking home some of the vegetables you grew.”
The book will equip readers with the information needed to start their own garden – from improving the soil to growing vegetables from seed. In many ways, it’s the culmination of his life story and horticultural career.
“I’m a reporter at heart,” Wilson says. “I like to write about what I’ve done and what I should have done – hoping that through sharing my experience, I can help others avoid disappointments in gardening.”
Wilson is co-authoring the book about recession gardening with his friend, photographer Walter Chandoha. A contract with a publisher is in the works and the book should be in bookstores for the spring 2010 season.

Giving Back
Back in 1995, Wilson had the opportunity to champion a cause that hit close to home.
Jeff Lowenfels, a lawyer in Alaska, had noticed the growing number of homeless in Alaska and encouraged gardeners to plant a row of vegetables for a local soup kitchen in Anchorage. Lowenfels then presented the idea at an annual Garden Writers Association meeting in San Francisco. Wilson says Lowenfels received a rousing ovation.
“It turned me on because just by the skin of our teeth we escaped hunger during the Great Depression,” Wilson says. “I had television presence at the time, so I became the spokesperson for the program.”
Now Plant a Row for the Hungry annually brings in more than 1 million pounds of produce nationwide. Since the program’s inception, the total has surpassed 13 million pounds.
When Wilson moved to Columbia, he encouraged the Heart of Missouri Master Gardeners, based in Boone County, to participate in the program.
Betty Gayle Smith, who just wrapped up her six-year stint as committee chair of the effort, recalls meeting Wilson for the second time at an international Master Gardener meeting. She went over, hugged him and told him she was so happy he had become part of the Columbia community. He just grinned.
“He’s such a delight – a charming Southern gentleman,” Smith says. “I think he’s a total inspiration to the Columbia community and to our country. We so appreciate his staying so active during his retirement.”
Missouri made its first Honorary Master Gardener award to Wilson. This is an honor he claims as his proudest accomplishment to date.
“It was a surprise,” Wilson says. “I was absolutely floored and delighted.”
A certified South Carolina Master Gardener, Wilson has now collected an honorary Master Gardener title in seven other states. And despite being an actively recruited speaker for many years, he never charges Master Gardeners for lectures.
In 2006, the Ray Rothenberger and Jim Wilson Missouri Master Gardener Endowment was created to honor Wilson and his friend and colleague, Rothenberger, for their involvement in the Missouri Master Gardener program. The endowment directly benefits Missouri Master Gardener efforts through advanced training in specialized gardening skills.

Looking Forward
In Columbia, Wilson plans to keep up with his usual reading of at least four books a week. He has another year to enjoy his garden. And he will keep an eye out for a certain box turtle – easily recognizable by a defect in its shell – that shows up every year to take advantage of a prolific strawberry patch.
Perhaps he will also tackle a surprising goal.
“I would love to tango!” Wilson says with a twinkle in his eyes. “I love ballroom dancing and am so in envy of people who can really tango.”
Does he watch “Dancing with the Stars”? Absolutely!
This self-proclaimed “garden geezer” is relishing the many things he has to be thankful for. “I think about it every day – how lucky I am to have one more day,” Wilson says. “It’s a good life.”

Jim Wilson’s Tips For A New Food Gardener

1. Start small.
2. Get a soil test.
3. Learn how to direct seed. You’ll have a greater choice of varieties.
4. Remember, it’s a lifelong learning process.

Plant A Row For The Hungry In Columbia

Heart of Missouri Master Gardeners currently participate in Plant a Row for the Hungry, a national program that encourages gardeners to donate surplus produce to local food banks and soup kitchens. Each year, Heart of Missouri Master Gardeners donate an average of 500 pounds to the Central Missouri Food Bank’s pantry.
“You see people coming and going and know fresh produce is going directly into the local community,” says Betty Gayle Smith, a Master Gardener who donates her own vegetables every year. “It usually goes right out the door within 30 minutes or so. When you see something like that, it makes your heart warm.”
Community members are encouraged to participate by planting an additional row – or a few extra plants – in vegetable gardens.
Drop off extra produce at the Central Missouri Food Bank Pantry, 1408 Indiana Drive.
Questions? Contact Evette Nissen, chair of the local Plant a Row for the Hungry effort, by sending an e-mail to Evette1357@msn.com.