Whilst green walls are becoming increasingly popular, many interior plantscapers exclude them from their clients’ designs – and for good reason. Many of the existing green wall products are complex to install.

One of the problems with some green walls is that they can be messy to install. Having piles of potting medium and trays of plants on a site is a logistic problem – it requires a fair bit of space to work in, it is messy and leaves a clean-up task to do at the end. On top of that, many green wall irrigation systems can be tricky to install and maintain.

The skills of potting up plants, assembling a green wall, sorting out plumbing and pushing a broom are all different. In small businesses the same person may end up doing all the jobs so anything that reduces the time spent on clean-up and assembly tasks is a boon for small companies.

The designers of a new green wall system have come up with a new, modular solution: Vicinity Greenwall which addresses these issues. Additionally, the design of the modular system provides complete plant coverage from the day of installation in contrast to other systems which never quite cover the supporting hardware.

EASY PREPARATION

The Vicinity Greenwall modular system allows plantscapers to prepare the plants in the unique hexagonal pots off site and then slot the pots onto vertical rails on site. This means that the pots can be filled with more mature plants which hide the system right from the start. It also means that there are no bags of potting medium on site, just trays of prefilled pots ready to slot onto the vertical rails.

Plantscapers who haven’t considered offering green walls or have clients who dislike the growing-in phase of green walls now have an option. Being able to provide a finished, grown-in result right from the beginning without the need for a big install and clean up will allow plantscapers with small businesses to enter new markets.

INSTALLATION IN ONE DAY INCREASES PROFIT MARGINS

Preparing off site for a simple slot-in installation means that installation can be carried out by staff who don’t need horticultural skills – it is a bit like painting by numbers – anyone can follow the picture and install the right plants. The modular design of the Vicinity Greenwall system makes it the easiest green wall system on the market to install which reduces the need to invest in extensive staff training.

For plantscapers, the ability to install a lush green wall in a single day will help to increase the number of projects able to be done and increase profit margins along the way.

NEW BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES

The problem solving behind the design of the new Vicinity Greenwall product provides a unique opportunity for smaller companies to effortlessly expand service and product offerings to clients.

This opens up new business opportunities that were previously out of reach, like cafeterias that are in the middle of buildings, away from daylight. A greenwall will bring the outside in and the use of grow lights will provide all the daylight that the plants need. Being modular, the design can be changed to reflect the change in seasons, or a change to the interior design – and that change doesn’t make a big mess, just pop out the plants and pop in the new ones. Greenwalls act as a sound absorber, reducing the noise generated by people talking and hard surfaces.

Staff kitchens are another noisy, internal environment that can easily be improved by the addition of a greenwall. Even tiny kitchens can have green walls. A small green wall space in the basement of this building brightens up the space, brings the air purification benefits of plants to the eating space and offers a healthier work environment.

Plantscapers who adopt this system as part of their product offering will differentiate themselves from their competitors, increasing business opportunities and set themselves up to become one of first Vicinity Greenwall experts in the country.

Vicinity Greenwall is now available in Australia from Martin Kellock Pots and Planters.