Shirley’s Flowers Inc.

Shirley’s Flowers Inc. in Rogers has been the go-to place for weddings and community and charity events in northwest Arkansas since Jack Cole and his wife, Shirley, opened it in 1975. They didn’t know anything about running a flower shop, but “the community embraced them and the rest is history,” said their daughter, Jo Buttram, now president of the company, which expanded into Bentonville with a shop off the square on Main Street in 2011.

In 2012, Shirley’s Flowers landed a major contract with seven Walmart Neighborhood Markets in northwest Arkansas to sell flower bundles in their stores.

“We’re really very lucky,” said Buttram. “Things have changed so much here, and our growth is due to the expansion in Bentonville and the Walmart Neighborhood Markets.”

Nineteen full- and part-time employees work at Shirley’s shops in Rogers and Bentonville. “Sales are growing and profits are up,” she said.

Buttram, who joined the family business in 1979 after working several years in Tulsa in the banking industry and for a commercial decorating company, said the business has grown as the region has grown.

Being active in the community through charitable and civic events also is a major part of the business, Buttram said, noting that over the past 15 years the florist has probably donated more than $500,000 in flowers to numerous events for such groups as the American Heart Association, the Northwest Arkansas Children’s Shelter, the Mercy Health Foundation and the Boys & Girls Clubs.

“I can remember when it was hard to stay here and make a living,” she said. “Boy, has that changed. We celebrate northwest Arkansas every day.”