Our first living wall made out of preserved moss panels imported from Italy. Photo: GreenScaped Buildings

 Even though we’ve been installing living walls and vertical gardens in many forms for nearly ten years, there is always something new to learn and to work with.

GreenScaped Buildings installed its first ever project this month using preserved “moss” panels. These panels are imported from Italy, and there isn’t anything else like them. They are fire retardant, preserved and super easy to care for.

The panels are actually made of preserved lichens. Lichens are composite organisms, which include the properties of simple algae and fungi. They are similar to mosses but don’t have stems or leaves. The lichen is collected without any damage to the vegetation or environment and is hand applied to the panel backing.

This type of living wall is for inside applications only and doesn’t need any ongoing maintenance or irrigation systems. All they need is an environment with a minimum of 50 percent humidity, the same amount people prefer and feel most comfortable.

A few of the spectacular colors offered by preserved moss living wall panels. Photo: Benetti Stone

The finished product moss walls are spectacular looking, with softness and texture that is sculptural. They even come in nine different colors thanks to the application of non-toxic food coloring, so your living moss wall doesn’t have to be green. It can be cream, gray, orange, pink, purple, teal, and various shades of green, or any combination! We have a lot more freedom with shapes as well. We can create nearly any design, even in the shape of animals or company logos.

GreenScaped Buildings did its first installation of a preserved moss wall for a company in Los Angeles. This foray into the international building scene taught us a few things. We didn’t realize we needed a customs agent, and it turned out to be an interesting process.

We were asked to design the wall around some existing signage in the lobby. Nothing like topping off a logistical challenge with a design challenge! The client loved the way it turned out and so did we. The creative potential for these panels is nearly unlimited. It will be fun to see what we can come up with using them.

Interested in finding out more about moss living walls? Give us a call at 858-576-9300, and we would be happy to talk with you about your project.