SIX ACRES con't from p. 30 a year, so if something happens, then we’ll fix it. All of the products used are top quality offering great warranties. For instance, our pumps have between a two and five year warranty; most home improvement stores only offer a 90 day warranty. Our liners have a 20 year warranty; our filters and skimmers have lifetime warranties.” As for the holidays fast approaching, Joe tells, “Normally it’s warm enough to host outdoor holiday parties. Truly water gardens create another level of ambiance to any outdoor party. To be able to have the sound of water and the visual beauty as part of the overall party atmosphere versus a big area of grass, there’s nothing like it.” Water gardens and aeration fountains operate 365 days a year. Joe assures, “They don’t freeze up in the winter, and the fish are fine all winter long.” Joe encourages, “In the winter when everything goes dormant, one can still delight in the water garden which attracts wildlife. Many locals have bird feeders, yet bird feeders only attract seed-eating birds; they don’t attract birds that eat insects such as the bluebirds. All birds, whether they eat seeds or insects, need water. We put in a water feature for a photographer who photographed birds. Once the garden feature was installed, he said the species of birds that came to his yard nearly doubled.” Two projects most meaningful to Joe remain near and dear to the heart of our community as well. When the First Health Foundation, who raises money for the Clara McLean grounds, needed a water feature, Joe was the man chosen for the job. His handiwork provides a calming respite as the Clara McLean house offers lodging at no charge to out-of-town families who have a family member receiving medical care in the area. When First Health built the Hospice house on 15/501 by Christ Community Church, Joe built their water feature. Joe slows, “When you’re at Hospice, you know that your loved one is not doing well; you need an escape every once in a while. To be able to find a quiet place of reflection is so important.” Joe’s handiwork inspires so many, and I wonder, “What inspires you?” Joe smiles, “Nature. God does. God has built some beautiful things. When we build something, I want it to look like God put it there; like it was meant to be. Whenever I go to the mountains, I love finding waterfalls. Connie and I went up one year, and I kept stopping and taking pictures so that I could use the inspiration in my work.” As for Joe’s favorite part of his work? “I love building water gardens! I like to get 20 pallets of stone, tear the pallets apart, and spread the stone out like a giant puzzle. To find a large stone with great character to be designated the focal point, and then to find others stones that mimic just being carved out of the hillside—that’s the best!” Truly Star Ridge Aquatics is a team effort. Presently, Joe’s parents, Joe, Sr. and Jane, help run the retail store and serve customers. Matt SIX ACRES continued SIX ACRES continued Gaskins, who has worked with Joe for around eight years, is involved with service, installation, and maintenance. Joe remembers, “Matt came in here as a customer one day needing supplies for his saltwater fish tank. We became friends and soon enough co-workers.” Together they service many aquariums in the area including the tanks at Pinehurst Surgical Clinic, Rick Saunders DDS, MS orthodontics office, and the Carthage Animal Hospital. The local connections began early on when Joe’s dad returned from getting a new pair of glasses at Sandhills Optical one day back in 1996. Joe laughs, “He came home saying that I needed to go look at a pair of glasses. I said, ‘I don’t need glasses.’ He said, ‘Trust me.’ So I went, bought some sunglasses, and met Connie; the rest is history.” Born and raised in Sanford, Connie a licensed optician came to work in Aberdeen at Sandhills Optical and met Joe in June of 1996; they married in August of 1997. In time, a daughter Alyssa and son Joey completed the Granato home. Going on 20 years of marriage and 25 years in business, Joe reflects over the passing of time and invites a walk through the grounds of Star Ridge Aquatics. In realizing that the established landscape grew from a cleared tobacco field as the Willow Oaks now reach the heavens with their grandeur, I wonder, “Who knew that trees could grow so tall in 25 years!” Under Joe’s care, the grounds have flourished. He points out the different varieties as we walk, “These are cabbage palms, needle palms. That’s a River Birch. That water feature is a kit that homeowners can do themselves.” We come to a billowing honey locust. Joe comments, “I started this tree in my propagation class.” His thoughts about the SCC program? Without hesitation, he tells, “It’s a great program for horticulture. However at the time, they didn’t teach anything on the water gardening, so this is all self-taught.” Around the corner, the water lilies smile in an array of colors from pastels to neons. Joe informs, “These lilies, flowering from middle of April to middle of September, have more blooms than the native water lilies which don’t flower as often and run like crab grass.” As we near the retail store, the terrain grows the desert southwest plants, cactus, and agave. As for the cactus container gardens featured, Joe notes, “We make these containers, plant them with a cactus mix, and people enjoy them on their patios; they make great gifts.” The first greenhouse built on the property neighbors the retail store. Joe remembers, “I put in the driveway, dug a well, and put up this greenhouse. The next year, I bought the trees, the willow oaks, and probably five years in it, I built this roof structure like a pole barn. In 1999, I closed this in and made a retail store.” Upon visiting Star Ridge, homeowners can easily turn their dreams of having a water feature into a reality as one sees the products flowing, the fish swimming, and the plants growing. We come upon rows of palms soaking up the fresh air and sunshine. “From seed to a six foot tall palm takes about 10 years of care,” remarks Joe. “This one is a new hearty variety.” He points to the ones with a big trunk and a blue hue. The other greenhouses offer more choices of desert southwestern plants and palms. Joe looks over his babies, “These will go into the bigger pots next year.” Truly the heart and handiwork of this master gardener are evidenced in the rows of natural beauty. “We offer specialties that no one else sells; you can’t go to the local garden center and find a ‘Fish Hook Barrel Cactus,” Joe tells. From yuccas to agaves, the nursery blooms with abundance all around. Joe’s dad shares the same passion as his plants from the white sweet potatoes, to green peppers and tomatoes grow here and there. Joe exclaims, “Ever since I can remember, Dad’s been propagating azaleas and growing plants. After years in the corporate world, gardening offers a calm.” The chestnut trees, Bartlett pear, and crepe myrtles lead the way to another one of Joe, Sr.’s interests—pigeons, doves, and Golden pheasants. The plumage on the male pheasants entices, and the females scatter as we enter the vegetable garden. The section that grows the beautiful blackberries and blueberries lies dormant in an overgrown mass of golden branches, and the cucumbers have outgrown their trails. Plans for the next season are in the works. In the propagation area where Joe divides plants, nourishes plugs, and stocks plants for the future, I ask about his vision for growth. Star Ridge joined others in enduring the challenging times of the Recession, yet in spite of the setbacks, Joe hopes, “I would like to see the business grow again. Before the Recession, I grew twice as many plant varieties than I do now, and from a creative standpoint the more business you have, the more opportunities you have for creative, wholesome growth.” We come full circle to the other side of the Willow Oaks where cacti line the tables and carnivorous pitcher plants enchant their prey. Attracted by the scent, bugs go down the tube, get trapped in the tiny hairs, and drop exhausted into the liquid of enzymes which digest them. “If you fertilize these plants, you’ll kill them.” Joe exclaims, “They survive strictly off of eating insects.” With each plant, Joe’s a walking encyclopedia of information as evidenced around each bend. From formal to natural, the water gardens flow in and out as diverse as the plant varieties available. And with each customer, Joe’s a willing resource eager to transform any dream into a reality. From the old barn to the other side where a dirt road named “Butternut” travels alongside the nursery perimeter, from the clearing to the trees leading to the road, you’ll find six acres of paradise. A paradise that’s growing a life’s work through both drought and abundance, through all the seasons of the Sandhills. Go, see Joe at Star Ridge Aquatics for all your water garden and pond management needs. �� See ad. on p. 2 Mr. & Mrs. Granato, Joe, Sr. and Jane, help out at Star Ridge Aquatics, LLC. SIX ACRES con't. next column p.32 The Pinehurst Gazette, Inc. No. 124 Cactus planters, a great gift for any home. SIX ACRES con't. next column
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