For 40 years, Washington Park Florist has been a fixture on Eastern Avenue — first as Prattville Florist, then, since 1985, under the ownership of Valerie Rae LaCount. What began as a traditional flower shop has evolved into what LaCount now calls a specialty floral studio, one that has increasingly focused on customized sympathy and memorial floral tributes for grieving families, delivered with the kind of one-on-one attention that’s become the shop’s signature.

That focus means Washington Park Florist doesn’t run like a typical retail storefront. Its posted hours — Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with Saturdays by pre-order or appointment only — are described on the shop’s own website as more of a guideline than a promise, since LaCount and her team are often out delivering or setting up funeral work. Same-day orders aren’t always possible, and the shop asks customers to call ahead, at 617-889-1120, both to check availability and before stopping by in person.

Washington Park Florist’s roots run deeper into Chelsea’s floral industry than the shop itself. In a 2018 interview with the Chelsea Record, LaCount described how the arrival of the New England Flower Exchange in Chelsea — after the wholesale market relocated from Boston’s South End — made sourcing flowers significantly easier for her business, particularly during high-demand periods like Valentine’s Day.

Today, Washington Park Florist remains a Teleflora Network member, offering arrangements for occasions from weddings to sympathy to same-day gifts, all handcrafted in-house at 120 Eastern Ave., Suite 1.