Meet Moore People is a series dedicated to the people we meet each day but do not really know; people who make Moore County a great place to live and work.
Say “hello” to Carla Clark Lee.
Lee has been called the farm girl, and country girl throughout her life. At work, she is called the garden-go-to-girl. She works at Carthage Farm Supply in the garden center and inventory control.
Her career choice was a natural.
“We raised hogs, cows, tobacco and field crops,” Lee said. “My family always had a garden and raised our vegetables and canned and froze our harvest. It was lots of work. Lots of rewards. My grandmother had flowers everywhere. Something blooming all the time.”
Lee was born in Lee County to Thomas and Linda Clark.
She enjoyed two years of horticulture at Lee Senior High School and attained a horticulture degree in landscape gardening from Sandhills Community College.
After graduation in 1983, she moved to Southern Pines and worked in her career field in a variety of places, from greenhouses to golf courses and garden centers. She also enjoyed landscape maintenance and design.
“Playing with plants in the dirt has always brought me joy,” Lee said. “Seeing the finished products is the reward.”
Lee has worked at Carthage Farm Supply for eight years and now lives in Whispering Pines.
“My backyard is my little sanctuary,” Lee said about her private garden.
Her life’s motto is the adage — find something you love, and you will never work a day in your life.
During the pandemic restrictions, Carthage Farm Supply was deemed essential and did not close. They sell supplies for agricultural professionals and novice gardeners.
“People were scared and bored. Whatever their reason, they found us. They wanted to start a garden, work in their yards, or just beautify something about this uncertain time at home,” Lee said about meeting so many new people.
“There were customers who had never grown anything, and they wanted my help. So, together, “we” grew a garden,” Lee said.
Lee has two children. Jennifer has given her three grandchildren and lives in South Carolina. Jonathan lives in Pinehurst.
“I’ve lived in Moore County since 1983. Where else would a gardener feel more at home? Everywhere you look there’s something growing. It’s just a nice place to be,” Lee said.
Feature photo: Carla Clark Lee talks about helping newbie gardeners during pandemic restrictions on Aug. 6 on the steps of the Carthage Museum.
~Article, photo, and video by Sandhills Sentinel Reporter Stephanie M. Sellers. Contact her at [email protected].
