Winston Flowers has come a long way from that day in 1944 when the father-and-son duo of Robert and Maynard Winston began their pushcart flower business on Boston’s fashionable Newbury Street.
Today, the third-generation, family-owned business helmed by Robert’s grandsons, and Maynard’s sons, David and Ted ”“ maintains three retail shops in Massachusetts, including the Newbury Street flagship; an 80,000-square-foot floral design studio in Boston; and a 12,000-square-foot facility in Long Island City. On May 8, the Greenwich store, a fixture on Greenwich Avenue, reopened at 154 Prospect St. in a 4,600-square-foot contemporary gray-and-white space that triples its capacity.
“Winston Flowers has been a fixture of the Greenwich community since opening our original shop in 2012, Winston said in a statement. “We’ve been delighted to get to know our clients and take part in both their special occasions and everyday events. Moving into this new space, we’re thrilled to expand our offerings to better service our clients”
Meghan Covington director of sales for the company, which created 5,000 arrangements for Mother’s Day alone, 700 of them for the Greenwich area expanded on this during our recent visit to the new location and in an email follow-up:
“There was a transition toward gift-giving during Covid, yet now as life is normalizing,
we are seeing a lot of the home entertaining and events coming back and increasing in volume. Our container plantings are also becoming more popular, and this prompted our move to a new space with more room for executing design and delivery.
Indeed, the large Belgian containers filled with snake plants and palmy birds of paradise, among others, all sourced from small growers in Florida are a favorite for homes, patios and the events that are a big part of the business, said Kelly Bonzani, the company director of operations. A seasonal loyalty program one of several subscription services and rewards programs Winston Flowers offers” enables you to get a refresh of your containers at least four times a year, with a 10% discount.
Bonzani and Covington talked with us in the minimalist retail front of the house, whose neutral palette is designed to showcase the offerings, with Japanese-flavored floor-to-ceiling doors creating a private space for client conferences and floral demonstrations.
In contrast, the back of the house bustled as a dozen staffers created bouquets of fresh, vibrantly colored flowers sourced from all over the world watched over on this particular day by Bonzani’s Cavapoo, Marty, whose favorite flowers are roses. The finished arrangements awaited delivery in a refrigerated space that will be especially delightful in August, Bonzani added.
For its floral arrangements, Winston Flowers uses glass and ceramic pots from Domani. (It’s the only company in the United States to do so.) The sherbet colors of spring have now given way to summer’s peachy and nautical blue-and-white palettes (the Strawberry Sunrise and the Seaside Classic, respectively, to name but two).
Winston is also known for its gift boxes, everything from Blossoms & Tea to a Farmhouse Cheese Crate to the Best of New York and Gentleman’s Grooming Essentials. A popular pairing, Covington said, is “Rosà and a long arrangement of flowers in a beautiful crate.”
At Winston, however, container plants, arrangements for all occasions and gift boxes are not all that blossom. Each year, Winston Flowers is involved in dozens of local events, fundraisers and philanthropic campaigns, offering more than $500,000 in floral donations that enable charitable organizations to “come up roses.”
For more, visit winstonflowers.com.
