Living Walls

A basic living wall is a plant such as ivy vines growing up the side of a building. A more complex living wall uses an engineered trellis system with plants rooted into a growing medium within the structure, but separate from the building. This system allows for more creative options. The most complex living walls systems include four elements: growing media, structural support, integrated irrigation and a drainage system.

Living walls flourish inside with the right lighting, or outside in almost any climate. They can be planted randomly or display intricate patterns. Living walls can use a recirculating irrigation system, drip irrigation with a drain, or be watered by hand.

Good Earth Plant Company conducted long-term trials of 20 different systems. We confidently recommend the best system for your location and individual needs. We know which plants work best in each setting, including how to choose and install the right irrigation system; how to make adjustments for lighting; and ongoing maintenance needs.

Our clients include homeowners, business owners, facilities managers, architects, landscape architects, interior designers, developers and general contractors. We install living walls in offices, lobbies, homes, schools, shopping malls, retail stores, restaurants, hotels, car dealers, and nonprofit settings.

Living walls conserve energy by insulating the building envelope. This reduces the need for heating in the winter and cooling in the summer. They create biodiversity, conservation opportunities, and can absorb and filter stormwater, which reduces local water body pollution and helps prevent the overwhelming of municipal stormwater infrastructure.

The Art of Living Walls Around the World

One of two living walls at the airport in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Photo: Courtesy Green and Grey
Living walls are springing up around the world as more people recognize the importance of incorporating nature into our everyday urban world. At Good Earth Plant Company and GreenScaped Buildings, we couldn’t be happier to see this trend. One of our Good Earth Plant Company employees recently took a trip to Shanghai, China as part of a course at San Diego State University. While there she saw many examples of living walls and other ways China’s largest city found ways to bring nature closer to the people living there. Here are some of my favorite examples of amazing living walls around the world.… Read More

Resolve to Get Connected in 2015

My first plant selfie of the year at the TPIE show in Florida.
Happy New Year! Can you believe we are 15 years into a new century? I’m getting inspired at the Tropical Plant Industry Exhibition (TPIE) in Florida, one of our hottest trade shows and conferences, literally. This group knows its audience well. Who wouldn’t jump at the chance in most of the U.S. to attend a trade show located in sunny south Florida in January? Back home they would be shoveling snow and only dreaming of the warm weather ahead. I’m motivated by the opportunity to meet and learn from other like-minded people, including a meeting with members of the nonprofit group Green Plants for Green Buildings.… Read More

Jim Mumford and Good Earth Plants in Entrepreneur Magazine, December 2014

Entrepreneur Magazine has featured Good Earth Plant Company and a quote from Jim Mumford along with client Batali & Bastianich Hospitality Group (B&BHG) about the living walls created for its Pizzeria Mozza restaurants in West Hollywood and Newport Beach. Entrepreneur Magazine including living walls as part of its Top Trends in Business for 2015. We agree! Read the feature article here.

A Merry Message from Jim Mumford and Good Earth Plants

Ho Ho Ho! The holidays are upon us. The Good Earth Elves have been busy decorating our clients’ homes and businesses for the season, including our custom creations for commercial clients Qualcomm and Illumina. My busy travel schedule not only taught me a lot, it made me appreciate San Diego even more than I already do. Out of the four conferences, I thoroughly enjoyed Nashville (it was cold – 28 degrees) and the Cities Alive Conference. Lots of Jim in Plants conversations about green roofs and living walls (vertical gardens) and how to design them, what system and plants to use and how to maintain them long term.… Read More

From Eyesore to Eye-Popping: Our Planned Parenthood Living Wall

Plants can truly be the most transformative of gifts. Planned Parenthood of Mission Valley was the lucky recipient of a donor gift, designated specifically to transform a old fountain into a centerpiece for its outdoor entry gathering space. GreenScaped Buildings Project Manager Kerry Bauer worked with the client to determine which living wall system would be the best solution and fit within the existing space. After a thorough design evaluation, a little creativity turned up the perfect plan. Since the client had an open-ended time frame, we started with less mature plants and gave them double the normal growing time to securely root into the manufacturer’s shallow cell tray system before being mounted vertically.… Read More

Celebrities Setting Trends With Their Living Walls

This green wall is in a beautiful residence in Del Mar, CA
Living walls are popping up everywhere. Just a few weeks ago we wrote about the living wall (also known as a vertical garden) on Ellen DeGeneres’s new talk show set. Ellen isn’t the only one in Hollywood with a love for living architecture. Two of Hollywood’s most famous and talented women, Jennifer Aniston and Jessica Alba, have living walls in their very own homes they are proud to show off. Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux rented this beautiful home during the remodel of their Bel Air mansion. It features a lush living wall at the entrance of the home that is accompanied by a peaceful stream.… Read More

Always a Winner: San Diego’s Orchids and Onions Awards

The Old Police Headquarters project Good Earth Plants worked on won an Orchid.
I had a great time at the San Diego Architectural Foundation’s “Orchids and Onions” event last week at the Aerospace Museum in Balboa Park. It is hard to believe I haven’t missed this event in 20 years. One of the best things about the event is seeing industry friends and colleagues including Kelly Dixon, Richard Cox, Roger Lewis, Howard Blackson, Patricia Trauth, Glen Schmidt, Roger Lewis, David McCullough, and so many more of you. It was a blast! If you aren’t familiar with it, “Orchids and Onions” is a tongue in cheek fundraising program put on by the San Diego Architectural Foundation to provides interaction with the design community with the goal of educating and raising awareness among San Diegans about our built environment including its architecture, urban planning, landscapes architecture, and more.… Read More

Go Green at Sea: Royal Caribbean’s New Ships

This new living wall aboard a Royal Caribbean cruise ship will really get around. Courtesy Royal Caribbean
Royal Caribbean is known for its extravagant cruises and for keeping its guests happy with the latest shipboard innovations. Its ships “Oasis of the Seas” (what a great name!) and “Allure of the Seas” feature the perfect balance of activities and relaxation. Where better to relax in the middle of the deep blue sea than in the green of the Royal Caribbean Central Park? This version of Central Park is an onboard neighborhood garden covered with 12,000 beautiful living plants. Good Earth Plant Company was thrilled to learn about this, and we are so glad to see ships growing real plants instead of displaying all replicas as many have done in the past.… Read More

Ellen DeGeneres Proves Living Walls are Trending

The Ellen Show goes green for Season 12 with a living wall.
There is no hotter daytime talk show on TV in 2014 than “The Ellen Show.” Ellen DeGeneres is an Emmy winning, pioneering comedienne. Ellen’s set has gotten a beautiful makeover for Season 12. It seems like Ellen has gotten the message about the benefits of bringing plants into your workplace. Ellen’s new set features multiple large screens, many beautiful potted plants and an impressive living wall. Take a look for yourself. We have discussed here many times the benefits and beauty of having plants in doors, such as improved air quality and overall health, and we are so glad at Good Earth Plants to see that one of America’s favorite celebrities agrees.… Read More

GreenScaped Buildings Beautifies the Lone Star State

Shown off in the Pirch Dallas showroom, a new living wall installed by GreenScaped Buildings. Next stop: Pirch Atlanta.
GreenScaped Buildings is “living joyfully” at Pirch retail centers across the nation. Operations Manager Kerry Bauer traveled to Dallas in August, leading our team of local subcontractors in the installation of a Tournesol Terrascreen living wall system. Pirch is a high-end kitchen, bath and outdoor living showroom that uses our living wall system to replicate outdoor spaces in the super sleek and contemporary indoor retail environment. Working with the general contractor in the high-stress final days just prior to the store’s grand opening, our team made all the worries regarding the living wall disappear by effortlessly adjusting to those inevitable hiccups on a busy jobsite, and making sure everything was perfect.… Read More