NORTH AUGUSTA – A plaque behind the once-opened wrought iron covering for the doors of the recently-closed Jim Bush Flower Shop has a quote from Former First Lady, Lady Bird Johnson, “Where flowers bloom, so does hope.”
And where flowers bloomed, there was and is much hope in the building where the Bush family had their business, and there is much hope for them in their retirement.
Jim Bush Flower Shop, located in a three-story brick building on 501 W. Martintown Rd. in North Augusta, had been open for 25 years at its location before closing its wrought-iron cover on its doors on Friday, Feb. 18.
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Flowers, however, had been part of a much longer, over-century-old Bush family legacy.
The flower shop on the busy thoroughfare in the South Carolina city was co-owned by Jim Bush, 90, and his children, Charley Bush and Terri Bush Webb. Originally, there were five co-owners, including a mother and a brother who passed away. The Bush family itself, beyond just the last location of their flower shop, had been in the floral business for over a century before closing up their last shop.
The Bush family is retiring from the floral business and plan on traveling and spending time with grandchildren and other relatives and friends.
“My father’s, Jim Bush’s, parents started a florist business over a hundred years ago. It was originally just called Bush’s. That was our grandparents,” said Webb.
The first location was on Pine Grove Avenue in North Augusta, and her grandparents had their own greenhouses, but the modern business used a floral distributor/wholesaler instead. Most of the plants from the modern business came from Florida, but the flowers were from all over the world, including South America.
“Not all florists have a local wholesaler. We were lucky to have a wholesaler,” she said.
Bush’s is no longer connected with the family and that Jim Bush Flower Shop had been the last shop connected with their family name.
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Also, they did not sell the floral business itself but the building for a new business.
“The new business will probably remodel the building. The building was built in approximately 1974,” she said.
The brick building had been a drugstore before the Webb family purchased it, and the drugstore owner moved to Charleston, S.C. according to the family.
Webb was 25 when she started in the business, and her brother was around 20 when he started with it.
Jim Bush Flower Shop once only encompassed the ground floor of the former pharmacy among its wood paneling and frosty schoolhouse-style lamps giving off soft light. Charley Bush said the brick and the wood used in the original pharmacy building were a lot older than 46 years. The materials had been repurposed for its construction.
“We started off renting downstairs in the pharmacy. We were not even here a year and decided to buy the building,” she said.
Through the years, the shop had some celebrity connections and engaged in charitable efforts. Charley Bush said the shop once sent flowers for South African celebrity golfer, worldwide golf legend, and Masters golf-tournament-legend, Gary Player.
“He was sending a thank you to somebody,” Charley Bush said. He said he remembered them being an expensive variety of flowers.
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Jim Bush Flower Shop also had a floral delivery to celebrity golfer, worldwide golf legend, and Masters golf-tournament-legend Tiger Woods before at the Masters tournament.
“It was delivered to the locker room. The former mayor of North Augusta took the flowers,” he said.
Jim Bush Flower Shop was also involved with their floral wholesaler, Georgia State Floral Distributors, with a yearly Golden Harvest Food Bank drive.
“One of the things I am going to miss is doing the food drive,” Webb said.
“Georgia State Floral Distributors would get the flowers and send them to us. We would sell roses for (a reduced price of) $10. We would then ask that people give monetary or donations of canned goods for Golden Harvest Food Bank.”
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Like other regional businesses involved in floristry, Jim Bush Flower Shop shined during Christmas.
“One of the things we really enjoyed was our Christmas Open House. Everyone looked forward to it. It was more of a party.” She said they had food, drink, and plenty of decorations.
Charley Bush said oftentimes in the store that customers could not see toward the back of it that there was so much décor and other items. They would have to walk through to see everything.
Webb said she is still selling stock to other florists and is staying open for some customers as she and her family members clean up and pack things away the week after closing.
They are all out of flowers but still have some containers for flowers, wreaths, and gift items such as toys.
Webb said she hopes to donate the plush toys she has left to a children’s charity or shelter for battered women and hopes to donate some decorative items to an assisted living facility.
“This week will be it,” she said.
Webb gave some final advice for those seeking flowers, flower arrangements, and floral accessories for gifts:
“Shop local and do not use 800 numbers. They take cuts and do not know anything about flowers. Call local numbers of florists and visit them locally. Don’t use (telephone-based floral services). Don’t use web-based services. Make sure your florist has a physical address,” she said. “We always liked talking to people who came into our business. We liked more personal service.”
Ron Baxley Jr. is a correspondent for The Augusta Press.
