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Last time we talked about “Going Vertical” with plants and in particular the TerraScreen™ living wall system.

That’s just one of several living wall systems that are available from FosterPlants™ though, so let’s talk about a few others. Each is more suited to certain applications. Some use soil as the planting medium and some use a foam plantingpad.

First, let’s discuss the Wally™, the modular living wall system by Woolly Pocket™ Garden Company

The Wally™ is  a very reasonably priced modular system that’s as well suited to the do-it-yourselfer as it is to the Professional Interior Plantscaper. The Wally is a breathable felt pocket — as its name suggests — and it’s made from 100% recycled plastic bottles. How green is that! Wally’s are available in a few different colors and three different widths. Wally One, Wally Three and Wally Five. They’re also available in two models, one for indoor use and one for outdoor.

One of the major benefits that we see in the Wally™ is its ability to conform to curved walls. Something that not every living wall system is capable of!

We’ll soon be experimenting ourselves with the Wally and will post some photo’s of our own Wally wall as soon as they’re available.

We’ll also soon have Woolly Pocket™ products available to the Do-It-Yourselfer for purchase on our AwesomePlanters.com website.

Next, let’s talk about the greenwalls™ Modular Planting System from McCaren Designs.

The greenwalls™ system was developed by McRae Anderson of McCaren Designs in Minneapolis, MN. and it”s a modular system that is just over two inches thick. The modules are available only To-The -Trade and are offered in 36″ squares which comprise a foam planting material encased in a metal grid. The modules also feature their own waterproof membrane and once professionally installed, the supporting wall is completely protected from moisture.

Our friend Joanne Young of Greenery Office Interiors recently installed one of the largest interior living walls in Western Canada. using the greenwalls™ Modular Planting System. Shown at left is the smallerof two recently completed interior greenwall’s™ That Greenery Office Interiors just completed at Jamieson Place, a new Class “A” Building in Calgary, AB.  Truly an outstanding masterpiece!

The final living wall system that we’ll discuss is the Tournesol™ VGM Modular Living Wall System.

The VGM modules are 19.6″ wide by 22″ high and they are available in two depths — 6″ and 10″ — selected based upon the needs of the plants that will be installed. VGM units are constructed from 100% recycled polypropylene plastic and ship flat to save shipping and fuel costs. How green is that!

Once received at our facility, the modules are assembled, a soil retention bag which comes with each module is then inserted and filled with a 95% inorganic soil mix. Slits are then cut in the soil retention bags and the plants are planted into the modules and grown in with the modules laying flat on their backs. Once grown in, in about a month or so, the modules are ready to be mounted onto the vertical surface where they will reside. Shown above is a Tournesol™ VGM Living Wall installed and thriving.

For an obligation free consultation to discuss a FosterPlants™ living wall for your space — inside or out — please contact Steve Foster at 305.251.7383 in Miami-Dade or 877.647.1782 Toll Free.

The images in this post are courtesy of Woolly Pocket™ Garden Company, Greenery Office Interiors & Tournesol Siteworks™ and do not depict living walls that FosterPlants™ has installed. Wouldn’t you like to be our first?

Space is limited and floor space is at a premium, so why not go vertical?

There are so many good reasons to go vertical with plantings that it would be silly if we didn’t at least explore our options!

That being said, yours truly can’t wait to do our first  living wall, or vertical garden, or greenwall™, or whatever you want to call it.

There are so many options out there as far as vertical gardening “systems” are concerned and so we’ve been doing our due diligence to determine which of the various systems we would want to offer to our clients.

Here’s what we’ve found. There’s a cornocopia of systems out there and there are good systems and not so good ones. There are some that are suitable for interior applications, but they’re not very suitable for exterior applications — and vice versa. There are some that are great for temporary or rotating applications, but they wouldn’t necessarily be good for permanent ongoing ones.

Some are just too darned complicated and some way too expensive.

Seriously, it’s a Zoo out there in vertical-gardening-wall-land and that’s just one of the reasons why you need a professional that knows what they’re doing to make this happen for your space.

At FosterPlants, we’ve begun testing many of the various systems and one of the best for interior applications that we’ve come across is the TerraScreen™  system, shown above. The primary advantage of this system is that it facilitates simple and quick change-outs of the plants. That’s great for a lobby space where one might want to implement seasonal plantings or change things out as the property holds different events.

We have many other living wall systems that are suitable for both interior or exterior applications so let’s explore what system might be best suited to your space and get you going vertical.

Give us a call at 305.251.7383 or 877-647.1782 and we’ll begin Making Your Space Green™.

Photo credit: TerraScreen™ available from FosterPlants™

It’s 2010, can you believe it! Where did 2009 go?

Some things may be different in 2010 than they were in 2009 or before, but one thing remains the same.

First impressions are… well, first impressions, and you only have one opportunity to make a first impression. After that it’s gone. Poof!

The first area of your space that your clients and visitors see is you reception area and in addition to all the great furniture and art that your Designer placed there,  we’d like to suggest that a few live plants in awesome planters would really complete the space.

Whether you get them from us or a cometitor isn’t really the point, as long as you get them.

Reasearch has shown that live plants that are professionally maintained will increase productivity and promote a sense of well being, reduce absenteeism and assist with the removal of  Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC’s) that are scurrying around in the air that the occupant’s of your space are breathing!

Not to mention that they will enhance the aesthetics of the architecture and design of the space and really won’t cost that much in the scheme of things.

Sounds like a good thing to us!

Next time we’ll tell you how a few well specified plants and planters could be better than too many, or none, and what factors you should consider when comparing  Interior Horticultural Professionals.

Check back in a couple days and we’ll tell you more.

You’re not living under a rock, so surely you’re familiar the US Green Buildings Council’s (USGBC) rating system for buildings that are “certified green” by meeting their LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) criteria.

You might not be aware though that NO credit points are awarded for the inclusion of live “green” plants that are placed and professionally maintained in these interior spaces.

That’s shocking to me!

Both the Australian and New Zealand equivalents of the USGBC have recognized the importance of live indoor plants that are professionally maintained and included them in their rating systems.

Bravo to them!

Look at the photo at left, of a building  lobby that we installed a few years ago. Can you imagine how stark this lobby would be without the beautifule plants and  planters to complement the architecture of the space!  They provide a sense of human connectivity with the outdoor that only live indoor plants could. A sculpture wouldn’t achieve this nor would artificial plants!

The good news is that the LEED rating system is continually being reviewed and re-evaluated and the Interior Plantscape Industry has about a two year window of opportunity to DO SOMETHING  to correct this obvious oversight on the part of the USGBC.

Enter GreenPlants for Green Buildings (www.gpgb.org) and my friend Joe Zazerra, co-owner of Plant Solutions, Scottsdale, AZ. (www.PlantSolutions.com) and a board member of GPGB. Joe has made the mission of the USGBC including “point’s for plants” in the LEED rating system his personal goal and on behalf of GPGB, he is relentlessley doing what it takes to achieve this goal.

Bravo to Joe!

To that end, Joe who is one of the first Interior Plantscapers to have taken and passed the LEED, AP certification exam has taken on the challenge of making this happen for our industry. Just last week Joe was interviewed by Kathy Fediw of JFA Consulting, The Woodlands, TX. (www.jfaconsultingbiz.com) also a LEED,  AP, and he brought us up to speed on some recent developments that should help our mission to get the USGBC to take notice of our industry.

One of the areas that already exists in the LEED rating system which enables plants (and containers) to contribute to project points is the  ”Innovation in Operation and Maintenance” category and Joe along with GPGB have identified a project that has succeeded in gaining a LEED rating in part due to points gained in this category. The project is the Ecology and Environment Headquarters building in Lancaster NY, a building that achieved it’s LEED status in part because of the points awarded under the Innovation In Operation and Maintenance credit under LEED for existing buildings 2.0. The specific credit is for the Biophilic connection and the narrative that was part of the process featured a plant list, environmental benefits and references to research found on the GreenPlants fo Green Buildings website

Joe also mentioned that recently, a second building located in new Mexico has achieved LEED Silver certification in part because of the inclusion of plants in the Innovation and Design Process category. This information will be forthcoming on the GPGB website as soon as it’s confirmed.

We’re very excited about all of these findings and can’t wait to be a part of it all!

If you’re an Architect or Design Professional working on a LEED certification process for one of your projects, we’d love to work with you to see if we can’t get you some points in the “Innovation and Design process” category. Give us a call and let’s do this!