GreenThumbs

Brenda and Harold Williams pose beside their Beech Creek garden July 18. Photos by Randy Foster/news@grahamstar.com

Brenda and Harold Williams pose beside their Beech Creek garden July 18. Photos by Randy Foster/news@grahamstar.com

Family tradition

Randy Foster
Thursday, July 28, 2022
Sweetwater – Harold and Brenda Williams are surrounded by relatives, past and present, on property that has been in the family since 1893.
Tom Orr is an old-school gardener who works his 2-acre garden by himself and sells his produce from his house. Photo by Randy Foster/news@grahamstar.com

Tom Orr is an old-school gardener who works his 2-acre garden by himself and sells his produce from his house. Photo by Randy Foster/news@grahamstar.com

1 man, 2 acres

Randy Foster
Thursday, July 21, 2022
Atoah – Tom Orr started his latest garden just three years ago, but he’s been putting seed to soil his whole life. He has two plots located on the banks of Atoah Creek – two acres in all that could more rightly be described as a small farm.
Flanked by her agricultural production, Vicki Walsh proudly shows off the garden she has cultivated on Lower Mill Creek Road. Photos by Randy Foster/news@grahamstar.com

Flanked by her agricultural production, Vicki Walsh proudly shows off the garden she has cultivated on Lower Mill Creek Road. Photos by Randy Foster/news@grahamstar.com

Like father, like daughter

Randy Foster
Thursday, July 14, 2022
Tallulah – Vicki Walsh was surprised when she got a call asking her to be featured in The Graham Star for its weekly Green Thumbs series. Her garden isn’t a big deal and she hadn’t been doing it all that long, she said. She was, of course, wrong.
Cameron and Hannah Anderson (left) stand with Hannah’s grandfather Billy Holder, who is helping them with their garden off Lower Stecoah Road. Photos by Randy Foster/news@grahamstar.com

Cameron and Hannah Anderson (left) stand with Hannah’s grandfather Billy Holder, who is helping them with their garden off Lower Stecoah Road. Photos by Randy Foster/news@grahamstar.com

Sitting under the learning tree

Randy Foster
Thursday, July 7, 2022
Stecoah – Billy Holder was the last gardener featured in The Graham Star’s “Green Thumbs” series in 2021. The 88-year-old Stecoah resident had three gardens back then (he has four now), but this story is about the torch he handed off this year to his granddaughter, Hannah Anderson.
Billy Holder shows off a large tomato growing in one of his three gardens on family land in Stecoah. The 87-year-old has gardened his entire life. Photos by Charlie Benton/news@grahamstar.com

Billy Holder shows off a large tomato growing in one of his three gardens on family land in Stecoah. The 87-year-old has gardened his entire life. Photos by Charlie Benton/news@grahamstar.com

Lifetime of growth

Charlie Benton
Thursday, August 5, 2021
* Green Thumbs: Conclusion of a 5-part series Stecoah – Even at 87 years old, Billy Holder hasn’t yet stepped back from tending his gardens throughout the year.
Rows and rows of tomatoes provide just a glimpse into what Joe and Lorna Sellers’ garden holds. Photos by Art Miller/amiller@grahamstar.com

Rows and rows of tomatoes provide just a glimpse into what Joe and Lorna Sellers’ garden holds. Photos by Art Miller/amiller@grahamstar.com

All a pleasure

Charlie Benton
Thursday, July 22, 2021
Santeetlah – Lorna Sellers and her husband, Joe Sellers both grew up gardening in the area. Now the two combine their horticultural upbringings, maintaining a large vegetable garden, fruit trees and berries at their Cross Creek Road home.
Kathie Hatton (front) and Len Sheffield have spent the last eight years focused on growing a plentiful garden on South Fork Road, following their respective retirements and full-time move to Graham County. Photos by Art Miller/amiller@grahamstar.com

Kathie Hatton (front) and Len Sheffield have spent the last eight years focused on growing a plentiful garden on South Fork Road, following their respective retirements and full-time move to Graham County. Photos by Art Miller/amiller@grahamstar.com

Labor of love

Charlie Benton
Thursday, July 15, 2021
Tuskeegee – One of Graham County’s most unique gardens is located far out on South Fork Road, near the Double 00 Farm at the home of Kathie Hatton and Len Sheffield.
James Buchanan proudly stands with his garden off Tallulah Road. Buchanan has been focusing on gardening since retiring from the construction industry in 2015. Photos by Art Miller/amiller@grahamstar.com

James Buchanan proudly stands with his garden off Tallulah Road. Buchanan has been focusing on gardening since retiring from the construction industry in 2015. Photos by Art Miller/amiller@grahamstar.com

Digging retirement

Charlie Benton
Saturday, July 10, 2021
* Green Thumbs: Second in a five-part series Tallulah – When he was a child, 73-year old James Buchanan's family garden was a matter of survival.
Tom Christenson shows off his greenhouse, which adjoins his 4,000-square foot vegetable garden. The garden includes more than 20 types of vegetables and fruits, in addition to flowers and other plants throughout his property. Photos by Charlie Benton/news@grahamstar.com

Tom Christenson shows off his greenhouse, which adjoins his 4,000-square foot vegetable garden. The garden includes more than 20 types of vegetables and fruits, in addition to flowers and other plants throughout his property. Photos by Charlie Benton/news@grahamstar.com

Growing together

Charlie Benton
Wednesday, June 30, 2021
* First in a five-part series Atoah – After retiring from a sales career, Tom Christenson and his wife, Wanda, moved to a property on Garland Knowles Road in Atoah.