LaHarpe’s TLC Garden Center and Kandy Rushing, owner of Iola’s Grow at Eden childcare center, were recognized Saturday by the Kansas Department of Commerce for their economic contributions to the region.
The annual “To the Stars: Kansas Business Awards” ceremony recognized 346 businesses, organizations, and individuals.
Rushing was awarded the Southeast Regional Award for the healthcare/nonprofit division.
TLC Garden Center owners Levi and Savannah Flory were recognized for the Southeast Division’s retail/service division.
Iola Pharmacy was also recognized as a Merit Award winner.
TLC Garden Center
In recent years the Florys have made significant changes to their garden center.
Six years ago, TLC began growing its own annuals instead of purchasing them. They currently grow 95% of what is in their greenhouses.
In 2020, they added two new greenhouses, creating an additional 4,300 square feet of growing space. That same year they modernized their showroom, a project that included creating a vaulted ceiling.
Savannah’s mother, Corrina Heard, began the garden center in 2000. At that time, TLC was a seasonal business.
When Corinna passed away in 2006, Savannah and Levi, then students at Kansas State University studying horticulture, picked up the baton and eventually returned to not only take over the business but make it a year-round endeavor.
Throughout the year, TLC holds educational and fun activities for the community and regularly hosts preschool groups to tour their facility and learn about plants and gardening.
The Florys have three daughters, Leanna, 12, Jayde, 7, and Hazel, 3.
Grow at Eden
Kandy Rushing owns the Grow at Eden child care centers in Iola and Parsons.
