If you’ve ever driven down Old Cleveland Road and J Warren Road in Cornelia, chances are you’ve seen the big white house on the corner surrounded by beautiful plants and flowers. Margaret Allen is her name, but many simply know her as the “Plant Lady.”
“My mother had a green thumb, and I learned a lot from her. My husband, Billy, and I have been married for more than 60 years. We both retired 20 years ago, and we’ve been growing together ever since,” said Margaret.
Her granddaughter, Kayla Campbell, is proud of her ability to nurture plants and people.
“She has a way of making things grow, but more importantly, she has a way of making people feel loved. Her home, her yard, and her plants have become almost a landmark in our community, and her love for gardening has brought so much joy to the people around her,” explained Kayla.
Nurturing flowers is sometimes challenging, just like life itself. Margaret has experienced tremendous loss and hardship but continues to “grow” and choose love and family. In March of 2024, she lost her youngest son to cancer. Just five months later, in August 2024, she suffered a heart attack.
“Somehow, through the heartbreak, fear and everything that followed, she kept going. Today, she is nearly two years stronger, approaching 82 years old, still tending to her plants, loving her family and doing what she has always done, putting a little more beauty into the world around her,” said Kayla.
“She absolutely adores her dog, Katie-Lee and her 2 cats, her plants, her grandchildren and her great-grandchildren. She has always made family feel important, and I am incredibly blessed to be one of her grandchildren. Watching her love my three children and seeing the relationship they have with her is something I will forever treasure.”
This weekend, Friday, September 25, from 9:00 AM until 5:00 PM and Saturday from 9:00 AM until 2:00 PM, Margaret will host her biannual plant sale at her home, 1708 J Warren Road in Cornelia.
“The sale includes one of my favorites and a best seller, Angel’s Trumpets. We also have Moses-in-a-Blanket. The strappy leaves are green on top and a deep purple on the bottom. One of my other favorites is the Mother-of-Thousands, which produces hundreds of baby plants,” explained Margaret.
The flowers aren’t just flowers to her. They are something she can nurture, share and pass on to the next person who loves plants too. They are a reflection of her; resilient, colorful, beautiful, and still growing despite everything life has put her through.
If you haven’t met Margaret, the Plant Lady yet, this is your chance. Come say hello, take home a plant, hear a story or two, and meet an incredible woman who has spent decades growing beautiful things and sharing them with the people around her.
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