Pittsboro, NC – On a soon-to-be-hot morning, Rachel Nelms walks in the cool mist of sprinklers amid leafy greenery and long-bladed grasses set out for sale.
This is Rachel’s Native Plants, Nelms’ nursery business in Chatham County, which she opened in 2023.
From her spot on Lorax Lane, Nelms sells plants that harmonize with the area’s flora and fauna and offers landscaping services. Her nursery attracts customers locally, across the Triangle and the state, and even a bit beyond.
Nelms is a graduate of Central Carolina Community College’s Sustainable Agriculture program as well as Appalachian State University’s Sustainable Development program.
From the crimson field of clover improving the soil near her greenhouse to the bright-red ladybugs protecting her plants, there are reminders everywhere at Rachel’s Native Plants of the lessons Nelms took from her education.
“I learned that the ladybug is a predatory insect, and so they’ll eat aphids,” she said. “If I wait long enough and provide habitat for the ladybug … not cutting back the grasses and giving it an overwintering site, then the ladybug can wake up in the spring and eat those aphids.”
In CCCC’s Sustainable Agriculture program, Nelms bonded with her teachers and fellow students.
She remembers times she spent with her friends in their classes and working on the college’s farm, like the time they painted red mulberry juice on themselves at the farm just for fun, or the time they built a coop on wheels, also known as a “chicken tractor.”
It meant a lot to Nelms to hear Lead Instructor Robin Kohanowhich say, “we’re going to miss you,” when Nelms finished her associate in Sustainable Agriculture at CCCC.
“It made me feel like I have a real home here,” Nelms said.
Willow Forster, one of Nelms’ five employees, is now studying in the Sustainable Agriculture program.
Forster also plans to complete coursework to obtain the program’s Ecological Landscaping certificate. The curriculum for the certificate pairs courses in plant science, plant propagation, and biological pest management with hands-on gardening labs and professionally-led tours of ecologically-oriented landscaping.
“I think I made the right choice, because I’m doing pretty well there, and it’s helped me do my job better here,” Forster said. “Now I know why I fertilize, why I cut things back and leave things be.”
Nelms is enjoying hearing Forster talk about what they are learning in the program now, passing on knowledge that continues to be relevant for the business.
“I think it’s a cool full-circle moment,” Nelms said.
For more information about Rachel’s Native Plants, visit rachelsnativeplants.com. For more information about CCCC’s Sustainable Agriculture program, visit cccc.edu/agriculture.