Rowlett Florist in Garland

When I asked Shirley Tulles, owner of the Rowlett Florist located in downtown Garland, if she intended to continue to do business there, she replied, “When you love something so much, you just keep going, with the flowers, helping people, all of it.” 

At 2:30 in the afternoon of Friday, August 21, 2020 she heard an odd noise and asked what that was. A helper responded with, “the ceiling is falling”. They rapidly gathered all the materials needed to complete the arrangements they were working on for events that weekend. Weddings and funerals take precedence over ceiling collapses, as far as Shirley is concerned. They scurried safely out the back before the whole ceiling dropped, covering the contents of the store. No one was hurt.

When the police and fire departments arrived, they told Shirley she could not go back into that building. “You don’t understand”, she told them, there were things that she needed in order to complete all her commitments for the weekend, and she was not going to disappoint her customers. Not only does Shirley always come through, but our Garland Fire Department and Garland Police Department do, too. Following her instructions, they located the things she needed from under the rubble. She and her helpers were able to take everything out to the Sachse location and complete their work. 

Fortunately, The Rowlett Florist of Garland opened a second location a couple of years ago in Sachse, so Shirley is now serving all her customers from that location. In the meantime, the rubble remains at the State Street store in Garland. Since the Rowlett Florist is leasing that space from a landlord who lives out of state, arrangements for demolition are taking a bit longer than they normally would. The interior of the store has to be gutted, and repairs will then have to take place before business can again be restored. Once it’s put back together, the Rowlett Florist will be back in action in the downtown square.

The Rowlett Florist began with a store on Main Street in Rowlett. Shirley Tulles closed that store and opened in Garland when space on the Downtown Square became available. Having built up a good reputation and customer base, she didn’t feel it wise to change her name when she moved her business to Garland, where she had and has lived for many years. Through many challenges and adversity, this lady keeps on keepin’ on’ remaining dedicated and finding joy in her work. 

Nancy Ghirla

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