Don’t let the sun go down on Elton’s plants
A downtown florist is selling living mementos of Elton John’s sold-out concerts in Victoria last weekend.
Potted ficus and palm trees from the legendary rocker’s dressing rooms are at Brown’s The Florist on Fort Street. They were rented for his concert nights on Saturday and Sunday. Rentals cost about a third the cost of purchase. The plants range from $45 to $200.
“They let us know a few months in advance what he’d need. You could tell they’ve done this before,” said store manager Tammy Candela. “Lots of people have flowers on their riders but not everyone asks for plants.”
Among the list of amenities requested in John’s rider was to have about 30 of the potted plants in three dressing rooms and “bright, colourful flowers” in his dressing room.
“We did vases of red and white roses, birds of paradise and hydrangeas. Lots of orange and purple and colour,” Candela said.
It was the second time the store provided plants and arrangements for John, who also played here in 2011. He spent one night in Victoria during that visit and hired a local florist to create custom arrangements for the entrance and his room at the Parkside Hotel. On this visit, he flew to Vancouver for overnight stays on both days.
John’s love of flowers is well known. In a 2000 court case, it was revealed he once spent about $450,000 on flowers in a 20-month period.
Candela said there is also a practical reason for decking out the dressing rooms at the Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre.
“The dressing rooms are the hockey change rooms,” she said, noting the plants and decorations make the sports-centred spaces more comfortable for artists. “Plants also help cut down on the echo in there.”
Candela won tickets to see John’s Sunday concert and said it was a great show.
When the delivery trucks dropped off his plants at the shop the next day, the excitement continued.
“Lots of people came to see them,” she said.