Article published in Smoky Mountain News
Written by Garret K. Woodward
August 13, 2024
It’s a hot and sunny afternoon on the outskirts of Franklin. At the corner of Highlands and Saunders roads sits a nine-acre property of natural beauty, one filled with endless species of flowers and plants, this wondrous piece of earth welcoming the public with open arms — Winding Stair Farm & Nursery.
“If you want to make a difference, come with me,” Winding Stair General Manager Amanda Chappell said in a playful tone. “Let’s just go wander out there — I’ll show you.”
To preface, there’s many moving parts when it comes to Winding Stair. First, you have the nursery, with the retail space taking up five acres. The remaining four acres is the Valley Farm component, which cultivates certified naturally grown produce for sale at local farmers markets and area restaurants.
To note, Winding Stair was formerly the Spring Valley Nursery, a longtime beloved community business. The property’s current owners, Stacy Bredendieck and Greg Mullins, acquired the original nursery and transformed it into Winding Stair in 2017.
“Greg and Stacy said, ‘We can’t lose this. It’s a great community place,’” Chappell said. “And, at the same time they purchased the nursery, they were also developing the Mountain Farm location.”
The five-acre Mountain Farm is located on West Old Murphy Road in Franklin. Besides raising sheep and chickens, it grows produce (squash, onions, cucumbers) to complement the Valley Farm’s annual haul of tomatoes, watermelons, peppers, lettuces, beans, potatoes and more. Recently, the Mountain Farm added its own grist mill.
Aside from that, there’s also the Winding Stair Farm Campground that’s connected to the Mountain Farm property. Located just off U.S. 64 near the Winding Stair Gap crossing of the Appalachian Trail, the nine-acre property includes primitive camping and glamping options.
Before it was redeveloped by Bredendieck and Mullins, the property was formerly known as Rainbow Springs Campground, which was famously noted in Bill Bryson’s bestselling book, “A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail.”
“It’s this magical getaway,” Chappell said of the campground.
But, beyond everything that Winding Stair is about, and also looking to do moving forward, the biggest underlying theme within the ethos of the business itself is one key word — education.
Alongside training its employees in the ways and means of running a nursery and/or farm, all with sincere hopes of those folks someday heading out into the world to plant their own roots, literally and figuratively, Winding Stair also aims to have continual programming throughout the year at the Valley Farm.
“We like to think of the farm as an incubator place for people where you can learn in this garden,” Chappell said.
From children’s workshops to teaching customers about the importance of native plants when one considers what they may or may not want to do with their property, the emphasis is squarely placed on responsible gardening in your own backyard.
“We’ll teach classes about elements in garden design, where people learn about how to plant a tree or what plants work best on a steep bank,” Chappell said. “But the answers that they’ll learn is with a native plant solution in mind.”
So, why native plants? Why must that be taken into consideration?
“‘Plant a garden for the planet’ is basically the way we talk about it,” Chappell said. “When you get that blank canvas [for a garden or landscape], let’s think about growing for the planet and not just for aesthetics. If you want the [native] pollinators, you need those [native] plants.”
And for Chappell, one of the great joys of life is simply walking out of her office and immediately into the vast landscape of the nursery. It’s in that time and space where she observes butterflies swirling around the flowers and songbirds radiating nature’s melodies from high up in the trees cradling the property.
“If I’m going to get away from my computer and walk around, that’s where I go — the native plant section,” Chappell said. “I’ll just go out there and fluff or clean the plants. And I’m very happy. There’s a reason ‘soul’ and ‘soil’ sound the same — being out here feeds your soul.”
Want to go?
The fourth annual “Family Fun Day: Playing with Pollinators” event will be held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 24, at the Winding Stair Farm & Nursery in Franklin.
Visitors can interact with local nature buffs and experts. There will also be activities throughout the day, vendors and live music by Rachel Bellavance from noon to 3 p.m. The Taqueria El Machete food truck will also be onsite from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Free face painting with Franklin’s Painted Wonders will be from noon to 3 p.m.
The event is free and open to the public. For more information and a full schedule of activities, go to windingstairfarm.com/nursery/events.
Read the original article at Smoky Mountain News.