The African influence on our gardens

Tyler—February offers gardeners a moment to reflect on the cultural roots woven through our Southern landscapes, and few influences run deeper than those carried from Africa. It’s a good time to note the plethora of our Southern influences from Africa, a truth that becomes more evident the longer one tends an East Texas garden.

This Black History Month, the Prairie View A&M University Cooperative Extension Program, in partnership with the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, is hosting a special program that brings those connections to life. On Feb. 27, the two agencies will present a free Gardening Workshop at the Smith County Extension Office, 1517 West Front Street in Tyler. The program runs from 10:00 a.m. to noon.

Many gardeners are surprised to learn how many of our most beloved plants trace their origins to Africa. It’s almost impossible to fathom an East Texas garden without peas, watermelons, and okra, all native to and originally domesticated in Africa. These staples, along with sorghum, crinum lilies, castor beans, and even Bermudagrass, form the backbone of our rural landscapes and many summer gardens.

Africa’s influence also shaped how early Southerners tended their homes. Before turfgrass lawns and mowers, bare dirt swept yards were the norm, maintained with twig brooms and kept clean for neatness, safety, and practicality. Even the bottle trees that used to brighten rural yards today trace their lineage to African traditions meant to trap or ward off evil spirits.

The work of Justin Duncan, CEO of D-Y-G Diversified Agriculture, has focused on organic farming practices in the humid South, concentrating mainly on cover crops, sweet potatoes, strawberries, niche market ethnic specialty crops, organic pest amelioration techniques and drought mitigation.

Together, these presentations offer a full circle look at how plants, practices, and the past continue to shape Southern gardening, from the traditions we inherited to the crops that may define our future.

If you have ever grown purple hull peas, enjoyed a slice of watermelon, or admired a stand of crinum lilies glowing in the summer heat, you have already experienced the African legacy in your own backyard. And if you have ever ordered gumbo, remember: if it doesn’t have okra in it, it’s really not “gumbo.”

This workshop is a chance to celebrate those connections, learn something new, and honor the people and cultures who helped cultivate the Southern garden as we know it. The program is free, but seating is limited. Call 903 590 2980 by February 23 to reserve your spot.

Greg Grant, Ph.D., is the county horticulturist and Smith County Master Gardener coordinator for the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service in Tyler.