Nerida’s Interior Plantscaping, VIC
www.neridasinteriorplantscaping.com.au
The brief from their client was to make a busy public shopping centre space feel more friendly and inviting to address antisocial behaviour and to attract shoppers to stay longer. Plants had to be safe for use in a public space including food court areas with consideration given to pots being knocked over and also anti-theft strategies.
To meet this brief, some oversized planters including single pots and bowls where sourced. This included large bowls with a mulch plate that would accommodate 3 x 30cm grow pots and a slightly smaller style was also used with the mulch plate designed for 1 x 30cm in the centre and 8 x 20cm surrounding it.
Their first challenge was to complete the installation while the centre was quiet, so after consulting with the client, the team arranged to arrive at 7am. Despite the planters being light weight, the size of them required at least 2 people of carry them in. Once the plants were added, they could not be moved without considerable effort from several people, ensuring the public would not be able to move them but the centre could arrange a team to move them.
Being a public space, Nerida’s Interior Plantscaping team have encountered some damage to the plants, however their ongoing weekly maintenance service ensures the plants are kept tidy. They have not had to replace anything but had factored in higher than usual replacements when quoting due to their experience with shopping centres.
The initial installation of 28 carefully selected plant species in a range of planter styles was received with great enthusiasm by the public using the centre and also the traders. Nerida’s Interior Plantscaping attention to detail was noted by management who were so happy with the service that a few months later decided to add to the design another 18 plants using the same range of planters and plant varieties to ensure the look throughout the centre was consistent.
Nerida’s Interior Plantscaping is now in discussions with management regarding the addition of more plants to further green up the centre.
Comment from Nerida Hills:
“This installation was chosen for our entry due to the wonderful feedback from the client and users of the space. We are proud of the result achieved after much thought and planning to ensure the design is not only beautiful but also practical for the space and able to be maintained. Our experience has taught us that beginning with the right varieties of plants, set up correctly makes our maintenance technician jobs so much easier, leading to happy staff and clients in the long term”.
