By: Morgan Topol
The granddaughter of one of Franklin Street’s original “Flower Ladies” is still uplifting the community through flowers, forty years later.
Bettye Jenkins’ family has been passionate about flowers for decades, so it makes perfect sense for her to run her own flower-arranging business, Bettye’s Floral Design, which is still based in Chapel Hill.
Jenkins is the granddaughter of Ada Edwards, one of the original beloved “Flower Ladies” of Chapel Hill. When she was young, Jenkins would gather wild flowers with other family members, and then her grandmother would go to Franklin Street to sell them.
“We went to the fields, the roadside, and the woods, because the flowers grew wild then,” Jenkins said.
Jenkins prioritizes customers’ tastes and ideas during her creative process, ensuring a sentimental, personalized touch visible in every arrangement.
“The flowers are made with family first,” Jenkins said. “If the family’s telling me what they want, I’m formulating an idea from whatever they have in mind, and then it’s instinct from there.”
Arrangements can be made with fresh-cut flowers, silk flowers, or both. Price points vary, but the business strives to be accessible to everyone. No budget is too small or too big.
She has worked on centerpieces, corsages, baskets, and vases, as well as towel cakes for bridal showers and diaper cakes for baby showers.
Jenkins also offers sympathy arrangements for grieving families. These items include wreaths, hearts, crosses, casket and standing sprays, sympathy baskets, and grave arrangements. She can also make smaller, everyday plants fit for any room in your home.
If you’re looking for something niche, try a custom design. Some of the custom designs Jenkins has created include buses, lawn mowers, cars, tractors, a pair of overalls, a guitar, a motorcycle, and many other items.
Jenkins became interested in design after she began volunteering to design flowers for her church. From there she began studying and taking classes, eventually transforming her creative hobby into a successful, longstanding business.
Her favorite part of making flowers is serving the people. Whether it be to add to the happiness of a celebration or to encourage those going through periods of loneliness and grief, Jenkins hopes her flowers can have a positive impact on others.
“I like making people happy,” Jenkins said. “Flowers bring joy to a lot of people.”
Bettye’s Flower Design is run out of Bettye’s home in Chapel Hill. It is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday and by phone order only on Sunday.
To learn more about Bettye’s Flower Design, go to www.bettyesflowerdesign.com/
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