A Bright Spot in Chapel Hill History: The Franklin Street Flower Ladies

Around Chapel Hill, a rainbow of daffodils, tulips, hyacinths, pansies and irises are signaling the welcome arrival of spring. While Coker Arboretum and the North Carolina Botanical Garden are go-to destinations to soak in nature’s beauty, decades ago you could find bouquets of locally grown blooms along the sidewalks in town from the Franklin Street Flower Ladies.

This group of African American women quickly became a proud symbol of Chapel Hill and Southern traditions. The budding entrepreneurs sold bouquets along Franklin Street from the 1920s until early 1990s. Some of their flowers were homegrown, others were picked in nearby fields or woods by the ladies or their children and grandchildren. But no matter their source, they were always a hit with students and residents.

In their first few decades, you could find the Flower Ladies on the north side of Franklin Street almost daily, near the Kuralt Building that used to house the Intimate Bookshop. Around the 1960s, other enterprising individuals sought to piggyback on the ladies’ sidewalk vending model to sell leather goods, jewelry and pot pipes. Fearing the “hippie” merchants were taking over, the town passed an ordinance banning all sidewalk sales.

After an outpouring of support from locals, the Chapel Hill Town Council created an exception for the Flower Ladies that allowed them to sell in an alley just off Franklin Street. Today that alley is home to the Bank of America Center.

With the loss of their prime location and dwindling profits, by the 1980s the Flower Ladies began to have a more sporadic presence and regarded their work as a hobby rather than a guaranteed source of income. But they didn’t lose their love for flowers – they passed it down to the next generation.

Ada Edwards was one of the original Flower Ladies, and her granddaughter, Bettye Jenkins has upheld the family tradition. As the owner of Bettye’s Flower Design, she has spent the past 30 years honing her craft, learning the business and growing her shop through word of mouth. She prides herself on arranging flowers with a personal touch for each recipient, whether it’s for a bridal shower, centerpiece or corsage.

While the ladies and their beautiful flowers are no longer staples along Franklin Street, the spirit of gifting flowers to brighten someone’s day is still alive and well with Chapel Hillians. Check out Bettye’s or University Florist and Chapel Hill Florist along Franklin Street for all your floral needs.