Throwback Thursday: A Flower Shop That Was Out of This World

By John Elari

Once upon a time in what now seems like another world, there was a little flower shop on Columbus and 73rd Street  between the years of 1974 and 1984 that sold great flowers, but came to fame for window displays its owner did on a rotating basis. It was called “the Cultured Seed, Theatre of Flowers” and earned its sobriquet for major productions it dedicated to Broadway shows, their stars, a film or two, current events, slide presentations of trips to Egypt and Kenya, holidays, and any other whimsical fantasies he conjured up.

A favorite of its many fans and passersby was a display of God’s work studio on “the Third Day” of creating the world, and of working on plants and flowers. A huge drafting desk with an architecturally-detailed drawing of an iris attached faced the street; three other finished drawings were on a side wall, and surrounded by many plants. A coffee mug inscribed with “God” sat nearby.

Just inside the window on a long shelf stood other plants, vases of other flowers and reminder notes to Himself: “I’ll call these snapdragons; I’ll do them in pink, yellow and white.” “I’ll call these onions; they’ll make your eyes tear, but they’ll be great in salads.” “These I’ll call African Violets.” Amid this, a yellow pad where God wrote His notes on the psychic energy resplendent in flowers and a spot-lit title page of the actual text of “the Third Day” from the Bible.

In a completely opposite direction the owner once did a slide presentation for Valentine’s Day called “Pumping Roses” in which he photographed an African American bodybuilder in white Speedo putting together a nosegay with lace doily of red roses, baby’s breath and red ribbon – and then assumed competitive-like poses as the rear projected slides rotated.

“The Cultured Seed” was an actual little theatre with professional lighting, sets built and borrowed, props, and many stories told through flowers. For Christmas they hung their tree upside-down from a 17’ high ceiling on which unopened gifts had been stapled, put the tree on a motor so it would revolve, and a rotating disco ball on the floor underneath.

The “Seed” came to Columbus at a time when the Upper West Side was on the verge of eruption, and then were accused of contributing to its rampant gentrification by opening a first upscale business. And the owner did so on a mere ten-thousand dollar investment, an unheard-of ten-year lease, and a monthly rent of just $575. Yes, once upon a time in what now seems like another world, there was a little flower shop called “the Cultured Seed, Theatre of Flowers” in NYC, where its owner did many outrageous window displays. How do I know? I’m that owner. My name is John Elari.

John Elari is a longtime Upper West Sider who still lives in the same one-room, rent-stabilized, West 74^th Street apartment he rented in 1966 — has seen it all, and has written a book about it: “Fifty Years and Counting: One Man’s Journey through a Half-Century Living in New York City, 1965-2015” with photographs. It’s a side-by-side history of his life and history of the city in which he has chosen to live woven through. It’s an eBook only and can be downloaded to your Kindle or computer screen by merely typing his name into Amazon.com. There are two anonymous reviews posted.

Photos via John Elari.