Lively Elements

Out of Office - Sabbatical Leave

2011-11-02T18:40:00.000-07:00

Thank you for visiting Lively Element's Blog.

At this time no new projects will be taken, as I will be on a long sabbatical leave for several months into 2012.

Please check back for updates on my return at the Lively Elements Blog site.

Sincerely,

Heather Baltrush,

Owner, Designer & Living Wall Consultant

Please contact the following companies with regards to questions on living walls/vertical gardens projects, installations, materials, plant care or indoor gardening.

For new projects:

City Plantscaping - Denver, Colorado

http://www.cityplantscaping.com

Jean-Pierre Sijmons, (720) 276-6064

For existing projects or plant material:

Some Like it Green - Arvada, Colorado

http://www.somelikeitgreen.com/

Scott Jeffries, (303) 424-4800

Mobile Living Walls

2011-07-15T13:13:00.000-07:00

Photos by PlantsOnWalls

Looking for a living wall that does not have to be permanently attached to your wall or hooked up to the buildings water lines? Then consider a free-standing or movable living wall that has it's own recirculating pump and watering system.

The FloraFrame Recirc by PlantsOnWalls is a flexible way to have plants on a vertical surface in your space to create a green environment. It can provide attention for store fronts, privacy between office spaces and seating areas, or simply add a living, green, attractive element to your space.

Lively Elements provides professional consultations that will determine the best plant design and lighting needs for your living wall. Then we work with a local and experienced plant technician company who installs and cares for the living wall. Seasonal looks for the living wall can be designed for outdoors with annual plants and herbs. Indoor walls can have perennials as well as plant designs for the season that can be rotated out.

The free-standing living walls can be installed back to back for a double sided wall of plants. The smaller living wall can be hung as a living art piece.

Photos by PlantsOnWalls

Themed Gardens & Vertical Gardens

2011-05-26T12:32:00.000-07:00

Photos by Heather Baltrush

A recent spring eHow article about getting started with themed gardens including vertical gardens with garden tips provided by Denver Botanic Gardens and Lively Elements.

Themed Gardens Sing in Harmony, Written by: Matt Kailey
http://www.ehow.com/feature_8329523_themed-gardens-sing-harmony.html

Denver Post Article

2011-04-19T14:42:00.000-07:00

The living wall designed and installed by Lively Elements, LLC was featured in the Denver Post April 10th, 2011. Lively Elements worked with the location selected by the architects, Semple Brown Design and the builder, CMC Group to provide the 14 foot wide living wall.

Some excerpts from the article:

"The dining hall at Kent Denver School features a "living wall" with 576 plants, including philodendron and kangaroo fern, plus thyme, basil and other herbs used in cooking there." (Cyrus McCrimmon, The Denver Post)

"It's the first thing kids see, setting the tone and sending a message right out of the gate," said Walker.

Just ahead from that is an indoor "living wall," a 14-by-18 foot vertical garden where theschool's chefs grow herbs used in cooking. Semple Brown's Dru Schwyhart describes it as a psychic center of the room, a contemporary equivalent to the traditional hearth that mirrors the "cultural values of a new generation."

Read the full article with a photo of the living wall here: http://www.denverpost.com/entertainment/ci_17797338

Dining Hall Living Wall, Englewood Colorado

2011-02-24T13:37:00.000-08:00

McClendon Living Green Wall at Kent Denver School

This is a modular living wall installation at a school's dining hall in Englewood, Colorado.

The wall is 14 feet wide with the top hung at 10 feet high. The wall has 672 plants, with 96 that are edible herbs that are near the side grow lights and will be rotated out when needed or over harvested.
All the irrigation and prep-work was done several weeks ahead of time so that the plant delivery would run smoothly.

Installation pictures from 02/18/2011.

2011-01-30T14:33:00.000-08:00

Come to the ProGreen Expo at the Denver Convention Center!
Seminars on Living Green Walls and Green Roofs will be given the week of February 8th-11th.
Visit the site to view the schedule and costs for the expo and seminars. Students are given a special price of $25 for four days of seminars. The expo exhibit hall and seminar pass can be purchased separately.
ProGreen Expo 2011
Lively Elements will be there to present living wall projects in Colorado on Thursday, February 10th. Check the schedule for the time and location. http://www.progreenexpo.com/seminar-thurs

Green Design Inspired by Life

2010-11-09T14:42:00.000-08:00

Radio interview on living walls and living plant walls from October.
The Prana Living Walls are mentioned along with the CU "living wall" concept.
After an hour interview, Heather Baltrush of Lively Elements, briefly talks about the living plant walls and some of the comments at the end are out of context, but it is still an interesting broadcast to listen to. I think Marissa did a great job as one of KUNC's new AGU’s 2010 Mass Media Fellow.

BOULDER, CO (KUNC) - University of Colorado Boulder researchers are developing a new kind of wall that they say will save energy. They're calling it a living wall. And as KUNC's Marissa Weiss reports, the researcher's idea is new, but the concept of a living wall is not. © Copyright 2010, KUNC

The lighting is up and the living walls are ready for the grand opening!

2010-07-23T14:14:00.000-07:00

Three Living Walls were installed in Lafayette, Colorado at the new Prana Apartment Homes Clubhouse & Leasing Office this July.

Just across from the busy ER of the Exempla Good Samaritan Medical Center a new space for relaxation, community events and exercise has been created at the Prana Clubhouse. The building’s entry welcomes residents with cool colors and two living walls that reach up to the 12-foot high ceiling. Just around the corner guests will see a 3-foot wide by 10-foot high living wall in the Prana Leasing Office that mimics a living mural with various shades of greens, textures and lines to please the eye.

The three living walls were designed and installed by Lively Elements, LLC

Living Wall Installations, Lafayette, Colorado

2010-07-19T10:51:00.001-07:00

The installation of three Living Walls at the Prana Clubhouse and Leasing Office in Lafayette, Colorado was completed July 14th & 15th, 2010. The living walls were installed by Lively Elements, LLC .

The official opening of the Prana Clubhouse and Leasing Office is scheduled for July 23rd, please call Michelle Zvitt for a tour of the facilities, 303-460-0500.

Photos of the installation:
The Leasing Office Wall is 10'-4" high x 3' wide. The wall has 180 living plants.

The Entry Walls are both 11'-4" x 2' wide. Each wall has 132 plants.

Close up view of the nine varieties of plants on the living walls.

Benefits of Living Walls

2010-05-06T12:05:00.000-07:00

This is a great blog about the Benefits of Living Walls, besides that they are beautiful when properly cared for. http://gardenjunkiesblog.com/2010/02/12/benefits-of-living-walls/

There is a similar list on L.E.'s website. http://lively-elements.com/gardening-facts.html

An article posted recently in the NY Times discusses the pros and cons of living walls. There are many design factors to take into account for a successful living wall. There are certain types and styles that work best for the appropriate areas. For the past three years I have been researching living walls and trying out several systems as well as taking classes by other companies to learn how to install them correctly. I built my own prototype that was very similar to the one in the article built by Matthew McGregor-Mento. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/06/garden/06vertical.html?pagewanted=1&ref=garden

Living Murals for Interiors

2010-05-04T12:15:00.000-07:00

One of my new favorite living wall design firms is Green Over Grey.
They are a leading design firm based out of Vancouver, Canada. "By taking an artistic approach to living walls we “paint” with plants and transform grey to green."

The rooms with living walls by Green Over Grey come to life with a mural of texture, color and lines that please the eye and senses. Take a look at some of their work...

A New Year Brings Some New Changes...

2010-02-02T19:46:00.000-08:00

The location of the 2'x2' living wall sample has moved design showrooms.
You can now see the living wall at Terrace Views in Centennial, Colorado.
http://terraceviews.com/
Terrace Views is an outdoor living design company. Give them a call before visiting the showroom. (303) 727-1000

More changes...
The small 1'x1' sample living wall has been taken down at Ellie's Eco Home store in Boulder.

A new merge of the Vancouver-area Streamline Enterprises and New York-based Plant Connection are thrilled to announce a new strategic partnership, which promises to become the standard in the burgeoning green roof and living wall industry: GRO₂ GroRoofs^TM & GroWalls^TMLively Elements is a certified agent and installer for GRO₂ GroRoofs^TM and GroWalls^TM .
The innovative products are sustainable, eco-friendly, and environmentally sound.
Visit http://www.myplantconnection.com/index.php and http://www.gro2.ca/

Interior Decorating with Houseplants

2009-11-16T15:58:00.000-08:00

Enjoy some green indoors when it's cold and gray outside.
Visit Ellies Eco Home Store and Invironments Design store in Boulder, Colorado to see wall samples of the green living wall. Just imagine a wall of living green plants in your home or office.

"Plants are a beautiful accessory to any room in the home or office. They clean the air, add color and texture, and are a nice way to bring the outdoors in. Although not as needy as pets, they are living, breathing creatures and will thrive if given the right love and attention." Issue #21, The Emerald Leaf Newsletter. Oct. 2009

Indoor Air Quality Articles

2009-07-22T10:50:00.000-07:00

The following articles emphasize the importance of indoor air quality.

http://www.seventhgeneration.com/learn/blog/atmospheric-pressures-preventing-indoor-air-pollution-home#

http://www.thegreenestdollar.com/2008/10/purify-your-indoor-air-on-a-budget/

15 plants to help improve indoor air quality takes up a lot of space that many of us do not have, so go vertical!
www.lively-elements.com

Lively Elements is now a certified agent and green wall installer for Plant Connections.
GRO₂ GroRoofs^TM and GroWalls^TM
http://www.myplantconnection.com/index.php
http://www.gro2.ca/

2009-06-03T09:12:00.001-07:00

Follow this link www.lively-elements.com
Lively Elements designs unique gardens for diverse environments.

Hello and welcome to the first full posting for Lively Elements.

It's a cool June here in Colorado and a good time to put in new plants so they have a chance to get established to their new environment before the hot, dry summer rolls in.
Make sure your soil has had a day to dry out a bit from all the rain. Adding compost or new amendments when the soil is too wet can make it clumpy and hard to till correctly.

Remember gardens grow so don't feel like you have to fill your entire garden now with flowering plants, unless you are only planting annuals, one life cycle plants. A perennial garden that returns each year can be easily added to...planting in spring and fall. Then next year if you see or read about a plant that would do well in your yard, you can add it if you have room.

My own personal rock garden is a work in progress. It receives full sun and is south facing, so the plants I choose to use there have to be very hardy and drought tolerant. Each year I find a few new plants to fill in next to the survivors. I also mulch around the plants and move the rocks and pebbles away so that the extra heat they produce does not fry the tips of the plant leaves.

Check out the Colorado Master Gardener website for helpful links on gardening.
http://www.cmg.colostate.edu/index.htm

Happy planting!

Heather @ Lively Elements, LLC

Website

2009-05-01T09:47:00.000-07:00

Check out the Lively Elements website.