Do not follow the example of a student who broke into a flower kiosk and stole some flowers for his beloved, and if you do, don't leave a trail of petals from the kiosk to your destination.
Instead, head for one of the few places in Moscow where buying flowers won't cost an arm and a leg. They are not as cheap as in Holland, but you can avoid the rapacious flower sellers of old Moscow town by going to one of these bargain blossom-hawkers.
Kolkhozny Fair at Rizhskaya
The Kolkhozny Rinok is located by the side of the big department store near Rizhkaya metro station. There are dozens of stands inside the old, dirty yellow building, which authorities have promised to knock down for years. Dozens of stands, manned by old Georgian women as well as younger counterparts from Kyrgyzstan and other former Soviet nations, sell flowers, fruits and vegetables. You can find tulips for 25 rubles, roses for 70 rubles and some almost-dead flowers for 15 rubles. Bouquets with 10 roses can be bought for 600 rubles. The prices, according to the sellers, are highest early in the morning and late at night and cheapest in the middle of the afternoon.
Capital of Flowers
Housed in a 2,000-square-meter hangar, the Stolitsa Tsvetov, or “Capital of Flowers” has a huge variety of flowers. The temperature and light inside is specially controlled so that everything looks fresh, even during the Moscow winter. Here you can find pots of violets for 25 rubles, tulips for 35 rubles and small rose trees for 125 rubles. If you want something more exotic, you can get cactuses for 60 rubles to 2,215 rubles. There are also vases of azaleas for 415 rubles and begonias from 42 rubles each.
Flores de America
Flores de America is a Colombian-owned company that sells mainly flowers from Colombia and Equador. Their prices are not the cheapest in town, but it's undoubtedly worth it for the flower arrangements (from 1,500 rubles), which make the bouquets on sale in kiosks look decidedly amateur. They also have such hard-to-find items as gorgeous pineapple flowers (321 rubles). Roses range from 70 rubles to 110 rubles, chrysanthemum bouquets go for 300 rubles and sunflowers are 88 rubles each.
TsvetoFeel
It is best to order two days in advance if you want anything from this new Internet shop. They can choose the flowers for you according to your description of the person. Their “anti-crisis bouquet,” which consists of one single rose, costs 70 rubles, five tulips costs 200 rubles and 15 roses is 550 rubles.
Kolkhozny Rinok Rizhskoy
Metro Rizhskaya
Stolitza Tsvetov
2 16th Parkovaya Ulitsa. Metro Pervomayaskaya. 950-55-10
Flores de America/Tsvetok Kazhdomy Sertsu
20 Khersonskaya Ulitsa, korpus 2. Metro Kaluzhskaya, Kakhovskaya. 730-2083
TsvetoFeel
www.flowers.ucoz.org
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