Loy and Faye Greenhill were singled out for special recognition at a reception held at the Hartselle Utilities Conference Room on Sept. 18. They received awards from Hartselle Beautification Association, City of Hartselle and the Alabama Senate. | Clif Knight

Loy and Faye Greenhill were recognized on Tues., Sept. 18, for taking care of the raised flowerbed at Fire Station No. 2 in Hartselle for the past 23 years.

The couple adopted the green space through HBA in 1989 after Loy retired as principal at Crestline Elementary School. Thanks to their devoted attention and care, it soon became a spot of beauty and the object of many second looks from passersby and was later dedicated as the “Greenhill Garden.”

“Cross ties marked that spot 27 years ago,” said Lt. Lee Hemming of the Hartselle Fire Department. “It looked pretty rough and grew weeds that we couldn’t identify. I’m afraid we didn’t do a very good job keeping it up.”

Today, the space is backed by a rock wall and has an irrigation system. Flowering plants are changed as the seasons change.

“It was something we had the time to do and enjoyed doing it as long as we were able to keep it up,” said Faye.