Exotic Flowers in Boston

Our Roslindale location at 609 American Legion Highway is open and welcoming clients and guests. Things are a little different from years past but everything we do is for our safety and yours.

We are still here every day but our hours have changed a bit. We are here Monday through Friday from 8 am to 4 pm. Saturday 830 am to 2 pm and a skeleton crew on Sunday from 9 am to 11 am. As always, sometimes we come earlier and leave later. If we're here, we can assist you. We still deliver six days per week.

A few things we are doing to ease your burdens. 

• Curbside pick up is available. Call ahead and we can bring it out or leave it outside the door.
• In-store service is available. Masks are required. We offer a free mask to anyone who needs one. Please make sure your nose and mouth are covered. A mask is not a chin strap.
• Two stand-alone hand sanitizer stations in the store and a workshop sink with hand soap. All are welcome and encouraged to use.
• All staff is also equipped with branded pocket hand sanitizers. Check out our new logo as a symbol of precious life from a new beginning.
• There are a few familiar items we will not have until Phase 4. Lollipops, pens, and portfolio books will return later.

We're in this together. Your kindness, patience, and support matter. Thank you.

In the past couple of years, Boston residents may have noticed a change in the local florist landscape. Roslindale's Square Dandelions Flower Shop closed over a year ago and both Louie the Florist and Calisi's Flowerland have closed their doors as we.

At Exotic Flowers, we are going to miss our colleagues. We are firm believers in the rising tide and feel that the more flower shops, the more awareness.

 Thankfully, we are still here in celebrating our 88th year as a family owned and operated business in the same location. 609 American Legion Hwy, Roslindale, MA 02131

The Charles Street Flower bouquet was created to offer Bostonians a floral gift that reduces stress. In iour hurried lives, flowers can help us relax and take a moment to enjoy beauty. Why Charles Street ? Located in the West End, this Beacon Hill street offers Bostonians a picture perfect inviting stroll for its residents. Also, Charles Street Flowers was a crown jewel of the Boston flower seen.

I just saw this hysterical video on line where two women put on a skit about the common misconceptions of becoming a florist.  The plot begins with a customer entering the store, presumably asking “typical” questions to the proprietor about different buying situations that are familiar to well seasoned florists.  If you work in the industry, you may have already seen the clip because the link has gone viral, particularly within the floral community.  Some of the inquiries and comments include: “This must be the most relaxing place in the world to work” (giggle, snort, sigh) and “Is this all you have to browse today?” when there are buckets of blossoms lined up in the background.   The whole thing is a farce and made to show the incredible misunderstandings that seem to be connected with the floral occupation.  So it got me thinking about a laundry list of lies that I have heard over the twenty-year stint I experienced while working in the wholesale sector.  

These are the ones I laugh at the most… Have you ever experienced any of these as well?

1. Retail florists make so much money; they can afford to take as much time off as they desire.  Although wholesalers make more, they don’t even work past 1pm in most places.  Fact: Retail florists typically work six to seven days a week, generally from seven in the morning until eight or nine o’clock at night.  Wholesalers commonly start their day anywhere from two to three o’clock in the morning to meet the shipments arriving by truck from airports.  They don’t work less; they have to punch the clock in while you’re still in bed asleep.
2. Working in a flower shop is the easiest job you can get because it requires no physical activity, the most being the task of arranging pretty blossoms together in vases.  Fact: The manual labor associated with the floral industry is congruent with the restaurant business where there is little to no “down time” during shifts.  Accurate physical responsibilities include heavy lifting, fast paced movement and constant up and down bending.
3. Becoming a florist takes no prior talent or experience and there is absolutely no education required.  Anyone can do it.  Fact:  Most florists hold college degrees in horticulture, agriculture or business where it is imperative that they know how to handle, care and operate a successful self-supporting company.  Many flower shop owners now also make it mandatory for all staff to attend conferences, design clinics and other continuing education opportunities available within the industry to keep on top of trends.
4. The majority of flower shops in Bostonstay open for at least five years with few closing before their one-year anniversary.  Fact: Opening a flower business and keeping one open are two totally different issues.  One in every three shops end up closing before twelve months in operation and only a few today have been around as long as ten or more years.  The flower industry remains one of the top most competitive markets in Boston.
5. All that’s needed to run a successful flower shop is a few nice flowers and some empty vases.  The rest will work itself out on its own.  Fact: In order to organize a well run flower business, you must have a talented staff, a well thought out business plan, a great location, access to a demographic that will spend money on flowers, a dependable wholesaler that will supply product of the appropriate grade, enough start up cash to float you during the rougher months of the year, genius merchandising and marketing strategies, top notch sales people, talent and most importantly LUCK!  

We already know how fabulous Boston florists are, don’t we?  Possessing contemporary innovation, a wide variety of premium product and an outstanding reputation for knowledge within the industry, Boston floral designers are among the most elite in the country.  From the east coast to the west coat, Boston still trumps the skill and ingenuity compared to others in the business and there’s a good reason why!  Our finest florists are gifted with particular qualities and characteristics that set them apart from the rest.  It’s true!  Just take a look at some of these fun facts about our city’s fabulous florists that continually make them rise above the rest.

• Mother Nature’s A Blessing To Boston Florists

Mother Nature plays a huge part in assisting buyers and designers from the northeast region and the reason why is because we are susceptible with four different seasons of change.  Unlike other regions, this allows us to have a deeper knowledge of texture and color.  Boston florists tend to have a richer compilation of tones and shading as well as utilizing a larger variation of height and size within their work.  Not only does it make the centerpieces, bouquets and daily arrangements more interesting to consumers, there is a constant theme of “change” making these pieces overall more enjoyable.

• Boston Florists Are Wicked Smart!

Boston florists are among the highest educated in the industry possessing a 75% percent rate of college graduates.  Popular degrees range from business administration to agriculture, forming a well informed community of intelligence within operation, marketing, design and management.  Boston florists are also known to be extremely supportive of local design schools.  Not only do they participate by aiding learning branches with grants, scholarships and internships, they proactively help to prepare and ready the next generation of talent within the industry.  

• “Flexible” Is Their Middle Name

It’s true that Boston companies struggle with a heightened expenditure of gas, electricity and rent than many other florists but this only allows them to be able to think outside the restrictions of cost better than competitors.  Bean Town’s finest are well crafted in downsizing, upsizing and substituting floral varieties when a client is strapped on a budget.  Being one of the largest importing cities in the industry, local buyers have a firm understanding of market trends and availability leading the customer to higher grounds of satisfaction.  No matter what the occasion calls for, designers are ready to sculpt and mold pieces that reflect all ends of cost while still presenting a stunning visual affect.  Their flexibility is so accommodating, there leaves no reason why Bostonians can’t enjoy fresh flowers year round!