Themed Gardens & Vertical Gardens

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

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

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.

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

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!

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

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.