Martin's Flowers has been rooted in the Junction for 110 years, surpassing pretty much every other flower shop in town in terms of longevity and quality.

It's unusual in this city to find a business that has been operating out of the same storefront, in the same neighborhood, with the same family at the helm for as long as old City Hall has been standing, and that is exactly what sets Martin's Flowers apart.

On a trendy block of the Junction, neighbouring photography studios and used book stores Lynn Freeman (nee Martin) has been coming to this small flower shop since before she was born.

Opened in 1899 by her Great Grandfather Alfred Martin, Lynn's business still embodies the same kind of neighborhood friendliness it no doubt had back during its earliest years as part of what was then called the Town of West Toronto Junction.

At Martin's you can come in and spend some time chatting with Lynn or any of her talented staff, dreaming up elaborate or simple arrangements for your home, office, or special occasion.

The care each of the floral designers puts into the arrangements shows, most lasting weeks after delivery in all their luscious glory.

This is also the place for unusual and interesting blooms, like chocolate brown sunflowers or roses in every colour of the rainbow.

Martin's has ridden the waves of boom and bust in this neighborhood, and the focus is on "local" as much as possible. As part of a tight knit community of local, independent businesses, here you can find blooms from all around southwestern Ontario, notably in the spring and summer.

In the winter months, Lynn tries to minimize the store's carbon footprint by bringing in lush roses from South America and other warmer climates over the less energy efficient hot-house grown greens.

If you can't make it into the shop, a visit to their website provides pictures and descriptions of everything floral. Signing up for the mailing list guarantees you're the first to know about special promotions -- like the Valentines day early bird, which has a box of Lindt chocolates added to every order delivered before the 14th.

Martin's is also aligned with FTD to ensure that any orders you have for out of town or even overseas addresses, will be delivered with the same quality you can expect from the shop.