Adelle Barlett (1885-1974) was born in Dudleyville, Alabama, and moved to Atlanta, Georgia, at the age of three. She taught school in Fulton County and married John Lampkin Harper (1886-1953) in 1905. Together they had four children: John Lampkin Jr. (1906-2004?), William Bartlett (1907-1998), Leila 'Auverne' (1908-2010), and Doyal Alexander (1919-2010). Adelle Harper opened her first flower shop, Hillcrest, on Virginia Avenue in 1921, becoming the first woman to own and operate a florist shop in Atlanta. Harper completed floriculture coursework and gave lectures to garden clubs and art classes. In 1928, the shop moved to 1094 Peachtree Street under the new name Colonial Flower Shop. In 1949, the family purchased Piper's Ice Cream Plant at 1201 West Peachtree Street for the new location of the shop. They remodeled the building, added greenhouses, and changed the name to Harper's Flowers. Eventually, the shop moved to 1300 Spring Street in 1978. Adelle Harper organized Harper's School of Floral Design in her shop and was named Atlanta's Woman of the Year in Business in 1951. Harper pursued other interests such as genealogical and historical research. She wrote a genealogy column for the Georgia Magazine and authored Adelle Bartlett Harper's Family Lines published in 1973. She served as president of the Atlanta Ladies Memorial Association, the Atlanta Quota Club, and the Magnolia Garden Club. Her memberships included the Atlanta Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, the DeKalb Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and the Women's Division of the DeKalb County Chamber of Agriculture and Commerce. Harper was also active in the Atlanta Woman's Club and the Atlanta Branch of the Pen Women of America.

John Harper Sr. owned Harper Realty Company and was a member of the Atlanta Historical Society. Auverne Harper attended Woodberry Hall School for Girls in Atlanta and Shorter College in Rome. William Bartlett attended Georgia School of Technology and worked as an architect for the Hentz-Adler-Shutze firm. John Jr. attended Emory University and operated the family dairy farm on 400 acres in DeKalb County near the South River. Auverne, William, Doyal, and John Sr. all helped run the flower shop in various roles.