Exotic Flowers in Boston

If you have been to Exotic Flowers in Boston on Mother's Day or Valentine's Day, you have seen the action, the crowds and only half the fun. Exotic Flowers occupies a corner lot at American Legion Highway and Canterbury Street in Roslindale. Our flower shop has been in this location for over seventy five years. 

When a client arrives and says that he has never been to our flower shop before, we are thrilled. A sales rep will immediately ask if you would like to see more of the under belly of Exotic Flowers in Boston. At the front of the store, a client will often find a wall of teddy bears along with a collection of artificial flowers designed for the cemeteries which surround our flower shop. Exotic Flowers is near St Michael's cemetery, Forest Hills cemetery, Mount Calvary, New Calvary, Mount Hope and Oak Lawn cemeteries. The front of the store also features Godiva Chocolates, greeting cards, balloons, dish gardens, bonsai trees, orchids and house plants. 

As you travel deeper into our store, you will see a bank of cubicles where telephone sales are completed. We like action and enjoy the buzz and energy that ringing telephones create in a store. Sorry, there is no tranquility here. We are more akin to a busy restaurant. Behind our telecommunications sales outpost is our open floral design area. Clients are welcome to watch Boston's Premier Florists in action; kind of like an open kitchen. On the opposite side of floral design is a ten door floral display cooler loaded with more than forty floral arrangements, dozens of seasonal bouquets and more than 10,000 roses.

As you drop even deeper into the store, a fruit and gourmet room is in the rear. In this room Exotic Flowers creates hundreds of fruit, gourmet and junk food baskets that we deliver to Boston, Cambridge and the entire 617 and 781 area codes.

Take a left at our fruit/gourmet room and you head into an authentic glass topped greenhouse. This greenhouse also operates as a walk in refrigerator during Valentine's Day. After walking out the back door, you will see our growing greenhouse. During the fall, Exotic Flowers grows poinsettias. During the summer, we grow hardy mums. During the winter, the experienced growers at Exotic Flowers design mixed annual hanging baskets which beautify the streets, porches, gardens and backyards of Boston. 

As you make a loop around the rear of the greenhouses, you will land in the middle of our garden center. In December, you will be surrounded by evergreen wreaths, kissing balls and Christmas trees. During the spring and summer, more than three hundred hanging baskets are overhead. You will also notice two houses in the property. People do live in both houses. What could be better than living in a gated garden paradise ?

so next time to you stop at Exotic Flowers, ask us for a tour. You are a guest and we are at your disposal.

For the past few months, Exotic Flowers has been buzzing about its next chapter. On June 1st, 2011 the next chapter at Exotic Flowers became reality. The next chapter at Exotic Flowers is all about the evolution of Boston's Premier Florist.

Exotic Flowers in Boston can trace its history back over seventy years to its flagship store and design studio on American Legion Highway in Roslindale. American Legion Highway stretches from Blue Hill Avenue in Dorchester to Hyde Park Avenue in Hyde Park and the highway traverses Mattapan and Roslindale along its path. Exotic Flowers began at 609 American Legion Highway and remains at this location today.

In the early 20th century, Marie Russo Canale's parents immigrated from Ponza Italy and opened their flower shop A.Russo and sons on the very location we remain today. At that time, Lombardi Florist was a big player on the Boston flower scene and was only steps away at 599 American Legion Highway.

About 1944, Arnold 'Sonny' Canale's parents dropped him off at Lombardi Florist to find work. He remained there for years as an apprentice floral designer, grower, and nurseryman. In 1957, Sonny bought Lombardi Florist and in 1959 married Marie Russo and merged the two floral enterprises.

In 1993, Lombardi Florist adopted the name Exotic Flowers as its primary signature. Of course we still operate under both names, and our long time clients still know us as Lombardi Florist. In 1994, a satellite location opened in Boston's South End and remained at 2 Dartmouth Street for seven year. During this time, Exotic Flowers was a primary player on the national flower scene going head to head with large volume flower brokers like FTD, 1800flowers, NationalFlora and America's Florist.

Exotic Flowers has always remained true to its roots by having operational greenhouses on the property in Boston as well as a year round garden center which sells outdoor plants, pumpkins, and Christmas trees. In 1995, in order to to stretch our reach, Exotic Flowers opened a full service florist and garden center on route 3A in Cohasset. The Cohasset flower shop remained there for over ten years.

In 2001, Exotic Flowers opened at the greenhouse at Faneuil Hall Marketplace. A three thousand square foot visual masterpiece in the heart of Boston, Exotic Flowers beautified the historic site for ten years.

Exotic Flowers remains committed to beautifying Boston, its residents' and employees' lives. Our flower deliveries enrich hundreds of Bostonians lives daily.

As we embark on the next chapter; Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Direct Mail, QR Codes, face time will all be prevalent our every day operations. We already have a QR code, a floralApp, delivery confirmations, worldwide service and World Champion appeal. We look forward to serving for the next 75 years. Thank you, the next chapter is going to be great.

September, 2010 - Boston, MA

Exotic Flowers, the greenhouse at Faneuil Hall Marketplace, has been invaded by carnivorous plants. Venus Fly Traps and Pitcher Plants have arrived from the swamps of Florida. They are hungry and are looking for their own Seymour to adopt them and more importantly, feed them.

This movie clip comes from the motion picture "Little Shop of Horrors," starring Rick Moranis. Audrey II is played by the deceased Four Tops singer Levi Stubbs.

This movie also paints a small picture of what flower shops were like many years ago. Lombardi Florist in Roslindale had many fixtures and decor quite similar to the ones in this film.

If you're in Faneuil Hall Marketplace, check out our carnivorous plants. Or if you're in Roslindale, stop by Exotic Flowers and ask about our 75 year history at the same location. We have some great stories to share.