Blueview Nursery in Norton Thriving Since 1949

When you come to the Blueview Nursery in Norton, acres and acres of thousands of flowers, trees and shrubberies come into view.

Anthony Cogliano has been in the plant business for nearly all his life. His family originally started the business in 1949, at Blue Hills in Canton.

“My father and his brother started a bridal horse farm to ride the trails at Blue Hills,” he said.

His father started selling plants at the farm, and the plant business quickly supplanted the riding business. He said as far back as he can remember, he’s been working on the farm.

“Summers, vacations, I’d be working all the time,” he said.

Even though he’s racked up a lot of experience in the business, he said there’s always new plants, new ways of doing things and new challenges nature throws at you.

“You know, I’ve been doing this since I was five or six, and I’m still learning,” he said.

Cogliano said the business flourished in Canton during the housing boom after World War II and the growth of the Route 128 beltway. In 1956, the state took the property to make the cloverleaf for Route 128 and 138. They moved to another location on the corner of Royall Street and Route 128 in Canton at that time, and purchased many other properties.

The farming business went on a slow decline from there, he said, due to the expansion of commercial business and suburban sprawl, and the family moved further south to its current location in Norton. Cogliano has been helping to run the business since the 1980s. In 1996, they moved all their operations to Norton.

The property in Norton has over 35 acres of land, on which he and his employees generally cart around customers to show them exactly what they have to offer, which is quite a lot. He said the advantage of his business as opposed to a garden center in a big box store is the variety, experience and knowledge he and his staff have to offer.

Customers come from all around to buy plant materials, he said.

“You know, we’re a luxury,” he said. “People need gas, they need food, they don’t actually need plants. We're really glad people come out to support us.”

He said he’s thankful to Norton and surrounding communities for keeping him in business, which he thinks is a reflection of the farm’s capacity and level of service.

The farm also donates to many local charities in Norton. He said they’ve also donated trees to the Gold Star Memorial Fund for Sgt. Gregory Trent.