green bulding

Make America Great Again – With Plants

| May 25, 2017 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Indoor Plants, Nature and Wellbeing, Plantscaping
Like a lot of you, I’ve been watching President Trump on the news. It is hard to avoid. He’s having a really rough time. I don’t care what your politics are, love him or hate him. We all want to see the President of the United States be successful on behalf of our country. The more I’ve watched, the more I’ve noticed something about the current Oval Office. Looking at it, there are no plants. None! When you’re in the Plantscaping business, this sets off a whole lot of alarm bells. We’ve written so many times about the benefits of plants in the workplace.… Read More

Will the U.S. Join France and Require Green Roofs?

| March 26, 2015 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Environment, Green Roofs, Sustainable Living
Germany has the largest concentration of green roofs with solar panels in the world. This is a school roof in Unterensinge, Germany, constructed in 2003. Photo: Courtesy Greenroofs.com database
You may have read the same headlines we did in the past week about new laws passed in France now requiring solar panels or vegetation sections on the roofs of all new commercial construction. French activists were pushing for 100 percent roof coverage but had to settle for Parliament requiring a minimum of coverage. France isn’t the first to mandate more environmentally friendly construction involving green roofs or solar energy. Germany has been a leader in this effort for 50 years. The City of Toronto is the first city in North America to have a bylaw to require and govern the construction of green roofs on new development.… Read More