His late Aunt Mary was a bookkeeper, receptionist and master designer with a photographic memory, Harrison says. In running his own business after his parents retired, Harrison gives a lot of credit to three women: his aunt, Mary Peeler Shirley Kepley and, in more recent years, Judy Kennerly. “The next day, they put me to work,” says Harrison, who specialized at first on funeral flower arrangements. When his parents came home and realized the work he had done, they were impressed. One evening, while his parents were attending a Jaycees dinner, David made flower arrangements for funeral orders supposed to go out the next day.ĭavid placed the arrangements in the refrigerator and went to bed.
David Harrison first started working for his parents as a 15-year-old, when he mostly just swept the shop floor. His father learned the rose business and about flowers in general by working for John Hanford (Elizabeth Hanford Dole’s father), who had a vast wholesale company in Rowan County that sold to florists throughout the region.įor years, the flowers at Harrison’s Florist came from Hanford, which is now long out of business. “Since I’ve gotten him, he has taken control of this place,” Harrison complains.īy Harrison’s calculations, this backyard florist shop has easily sold more than a million roses since his parents started in 1945. Louie has his own comfy chair in Harrison’s office.
Many of the customers also enjoy seeing Louie, Harrison’s shop dog, who usually barks a greeting outside, then races through a back door for attention inside. Lampert says she values Harrison’s professionalism, his creativeness with arrangements and his opinions on what she might be looking for. “He tells wonderful stories,” she says, “but I’ve never heard him gossip.” Lampert enjoys chatting with Harrison when she stops by the shop. Meetta Lampert, who first became a customer of the shop in the 1960s when she lived in Forest Hills, still counts on Harrison for whatever flower arrangements she needs. “I would just like to see it continue,” Harrison says.
The house and shop are located in what over the years has become a hospital district and physician-heavy neighborhood. Harrison wants to retire by the end of the year, and he hopes a purchaser will want to keep the shop going and also recognize the overall value of the property.
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