Sacramento News & Review
Support Local Independent Journalism Sign up for our newsletter!
  • News
    • Crime Beat
    • COVID-19
    • police reform
  • Voices
    • Greenlight
    • Fifteen Minutes
    • Essay
    • Ask Joey
    • Ask 420
  • Arts+Culture
    • Dish
    • Music
    • Home & Garden
    • Rebooting the Arts
  • Calendar
  • Solving Sacramento
    • Rebooting the Arts
    • Housing
    • ABOUT SOLVING SACRAMENTO
  • Newsletter
  • Become a supporter
  • More…
    • Local Dining
    • SN&R Archive
    • Best of Sac
    • SAMMIES
    • Sponsored Content
    • Independent Journalism Fund
    • Letter to the Editor
    • Contact Us
Hot Topics
  • March 9, 2021 | In light of recent deaths, Sacramento City Hall faces reckoning on warming centers
  • March 24, 2023 | ‘Uprooted’ exhibit opens in Sacramento, commemorating the darkest moment – and the tale of survival – for Californians of Japanese descent
  • March 24, 2023 | California’s drought is not over
  • March 23, 2023 | Sacramento’s Miller Park becomes a safe ground for those experiencing homelessness
  • March 22, 2023 | Letters: Everything sucks everywhere all at once
  • March 21, 2023 | The Foilies 2023: Recognizing the worst in government transparency
Spotlight Community

Adding instant impact

White tent filled with palm trees and plantsKifumi Keppler and Exotic Plants turned a plain white tent in a parking lot into a tropical oasis with palms and other plants rented from her business. Photo courtesy of Exotic Plants

By: Debbie Arrington November 22, 2021

Exotic Plants creates beautiful settings with rental plants

Whether turning a railyard into a tropical paradise or making rock royalty feel comfortable back stage, Exotic Plants owner Kifumi Keppler knows the power of plants to set the right mood.

“It’s instant beauty,” she says. “They make a real impact.”

With a busy rental service, Exotic Plants – Sacramento’s destination indoor garden store – has supplied live plants and expertise for hundreds of local events. From weddings to outdoor concerts, Keppler’s plants provide the perfect ambiance.

“An event in a tent; it’s just a tent – it’s blah,” she says.

The same goes for hotel ballrooms or entertainment venues, Keppler adds. “An empty room can use some life. A few little flowers don’t have the impact. You add plants, you get instant impact.”

Among her 2021 projects: the Lost in Riddim music festival. Held in October in Sacramento’s Railyard District, the festival featured popular African and Caribbean artists and attracted thousands of concertgoers. For the artist lounge, Keppler and her crew created lush tropical settings with an assortment of large palms, bromeliads and other potted plants. She also constructed a huge living mural out of moss.

“We made an island effect,” says Keppler. “We use some pretty big plants; some of our trees are 15 feet tall. Our biggest go clear to the ceiling. Generally, our large plants that we use are 7 to 8 feet tall. They make a big impression.”

A recent Sacramento fashion show framed its runway models with Exotic Plants greenery. Decorating the stage while complementing the clothes, the plants transformed a plain auditorium into a special place.

“Some people want tropical, others want something more refined,” she explains. “For a tropical look, we use lots of palms and leafy plants. For a more refined look, we use more ferns and ficus trees and put everything in white pots.”

Keppler’s portable plant displays are almost ubiquitous at major Sacramento events at Golden One Center and other venues. Thousands of local college graduates have walked past Exotic Plants greenery and flowers, used to decorate arena and auditoriums for graduation ceremonies for UC Davis and Sacramento State. Red Hawk Casino commissioned custom leis and centerpieces.

One of her most memorable special assignments: Creating an indoor jungle back stage for Sir Elton John.

“Elton loves plants, he’s crazy about them,” Keppler recalls of his Sacramento concert appearance. “We brought tons – lots of palms, trees, shrubs and orchids, too. We lined them up in the hallway and filled the green room.”

From beautiful orchids to majestic palms, plants can elevate events to special occasions, says Keppler. Renting live plants is often cheaper than buying fresh cut flowers. Weddings, anniversaries and other occasions may use blooming orchids or potted succulents as contemporary table centerpieces.

“You can rent large orchids for $15 to $20, depending on variety, while small flower arrangements cost $50, $60,” she explains. “Multi-spiked orchids grouped in big containers (can be rented for) $100 to $200. A floral arrangement, to have the same punch, would cost $700 to $800.”

During the holiday season, Exotic Plants rents plants for parties and celebrations of all kinds. (Call for availability.) On request, Keppler makes custom flower arrangements; she is a longtime Ikebana expert.

Exotic Plants also hosts private events at its Fulton Avenue’s plant-packed store.

“We hosted an engagement party,” Keppler says. “The greenery was already here and it’s a wonderful space. We made succulent corsages and bouquets. It was a lot of fun.”

Exotic Plants is located at 1525 Fulton Ave., Sacramento. Phone 916-922-4769 or visit www.exoticplantsltd.com.

TOPICS:concertselton johnexotic plantsgardeningplant rentalsacramentoSpecial eventstropical

Our content is free, but not free to produce

If you value our local news, arts and entertainment coverage, become an SN&R supporter with a one-time or recurring donation. Help us keep our reporters at work, bringing you the stories that need to be told.

Become a supporter
Newsletter

Stay Updated

For the latest local news, arts and entertainment, sign up for our newsletter.
We'll tell you the story behind the story.

    • Previous post
    • Next post

    About the Sponsor

    Exotic Plants
    A local, family owned business like no other in Sacramento. For more than 45 years we have brought the largest variety of premium indoor plants to the Sacramento metropolitan area. Our inventory changes constantly, but you’ll always find large green palms, ficus and fiddle leaf figs, colorful foliage plants such as crotons and bromeliads and blooming plants, including the largest variety of vibrant orchids in our community. Our plants, containers and other decor are often imported from places such as Hawaii and even Bali. Stop by our shop to experience exotic beauty in full effect! https://www.exoticplantsltd.com/

    Related Articles

    COVID-19, News, Voices

    Better safe than sorry


    News

    California’s most aggressive debt collector sued thousands of customers. Now it says it’s stopping.


    Home & Garden

    A fabulous stroll


    COVID-19, News

    Sacramento-area faith leaders are in the trenches of the coronavirus battle


    Meet the sponsors

    • Berkeley Strategy Advisors
      Berkeley Strategy Advisors

      published 5 articles

    • BRIDGE Housing
      BRIDGE Housing

      published 3 articles

    • California Workforce Association
      California Workforce Association

      published 13 articles

    • City of Roseville
      City of Roseville

      published 4 articles

    • Del Paso Boulevard Partnership
      Del Paso Boulevard Partnership

      published 28 articles

    • Exotic Plants
      Exotic Plants

      published 6 articles

    • Joshua's House Hospice
      Joshua's House Hospice

      published 1 article

    • Midtown
      Midtown

      published 11 articles

    • N&R Publications
      N&R Publications

      published 5 articles

    • Northern California Research
      Northern California Research

      published 10 articles

    • Sacramento County Department of Child Support Services
      Sacramento County Department of Child Support Services

      published 5 articles

    • Sacramento County In-Home Supportive Services
      Sacramento County In-Home Supportive Services

      published 1 article

    • Sacramento Regional Transit District
      Sacramento Regional Transit District

      published 28 articles

    • SEIU
      SEIU

      published 30 articles

    • Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
      Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.

      published 1 article

    • The California Endowment
      The California Endowment

      published 65 articles

    • Volunteers of America
      Volunteers of America

      published 8 articles

    • Workforce Development Board of Solano County
      Workforce Development Board of Solano County

      published 4 articles

    Our Sponsors

    Berkeley Strategy Advisors BRIDGE Housing California Workforce Association City of Roseville Del Paso Boulevard Partnership Exotic Plants Joshua's House Hospice Midtown N&R Publications Northern California Research Sacramento County Department of Child Support Services Sacramento County In-Home Supportive Services Sacramento Regional Transit District SEIU Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. The California Endowment Volunteers of America Workforce Development Board of Solano County

    Categories

    Community

    Tags

    2020 affordable housing art astrology Black Lives Matter board of supervisors budget California cannabis City Council city hall climate change coronavirus COVID-19 COVID-19 in Sacramento Donald Trump election food gardening gavin newsom George Floyd homeless homelessness horoscopes jobs Joe Biden letters Mayor Darrell Steinberg music november election pandemic police reform president donald trump presidential election protests public health sacramento sacramento county Sacramento police Sacramento Regional Transit District SacRT SEIU Stephon Clark strong mayor taxes
    Newsletter

    Stay Updated

    For the latest local news, arts and entertainment, sign up for our newsletter.
    We'll tell you the story behind the story.

      Recent Posts
      • ‘Uprooted’ exhibit opens in Sacramento, commemorating the darkest moment – and the tale of survival – for Californians of Japanese descent
      • California’s drought is not over
      • Sacramento’s Miller Park becomes a safe ground for those experiencing homelessness
      • Letters: Everything sucks everywhere all at once
      • The Foilies 2023: Recognizing the worst in government transparency
      Links
      • Newsletter Signup
      • Follow us on Twitter
      • Find us on Facebook
      • SN&R Archives
      • Best of Sac
      • SAMMIES
      • RSS
      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms of Service
      • Contact Us
      Become a supporter
      Categories
      • 2020 election (86)
      • Arts & Culture (43)
      • Arts+Culture (414)
      • Ask Joey (1,017)
      • Behind the Issues (1)
      • Cannabis (39)
      • COVID-19 (312)
      • Crime Beat (101)
      • Dish (74)
      • Food (12)
      • Greenlight (492)
      • Home & Garden (77)
      • Housing (47)
      • Music (66)
      • News (1,160)
      • Rebooting the Arts (33)
      • Solving Sacramento (47)
      • Stage (8)
      • The arts (4)
      • Voices (477)

      © 2019+ Sacramento News & Review