#Goodplantdesign begins with vision, should be flexible and become a long term commitment

Something unique happened a few weeks back.

Kaz, my colleague who has been with the company 14 years, beginning his plant journey in Dublin to now looking after plants for our client offices in Berlin & Warsaw,?was approached by a journalist, Stella from ¨Die Zeit¨, a German newspaper with a readership close to 2 million.

Stella was interested in finding out- ′Who takes care of the office plants?′?

She spent 2 days with Kaz visiting client offices in Berlin noting how he maintains the plants and his interactions with the clients. I found it to be a very engaging down to earth article which made me think about the unique offering interior landscapers offer in this changing world of office life.

Currently, a most important consideration for a client is Workplace design. When deciding whether to join a company, workplace design affects a new employees decision. Stunning reception and lobby planting can play a welcoming role to tempt new hires. New ideas are key for company growth. Greenery can help get those creative juices flowing.?Getting creative with greenery can involve floor standing plants, built in unit planting, moss or living wall planting, hanging planting or screen planting for private spaces, bespoke planting commissions etc. Office managers, facilities, procurement, architects, fit out companies, builders all benefit from working with plant designers.

Commercial pots & plants can be difficult to source and are expensive. In our line of work, you seem to spend all day daydreaming about the next big design project and what you can bring to it! It′s important to stay in touch with your favourite suppliers, seek out new trends within the industry, follow client and architects vision and offer a lot of choice to engage clients with the variety of options available.?Plants vary in quality too so it′s important to?source the strongest plant varieties from the best growers globally in order to offer the client any planting that they desire, deliver it where ever they want?with round-the-clock maintenance similar to having your own personal gardener.

It was nice to read in the article, office staff engaging with Kaz on planting queries while he watered, dusted, fertilised and pruned the planting. No over or underwatering, using proper equipment, following safety and security procedures. Any unhappy plants will be replaced as needed. It helps to take note of sick plants and ask yourself ′Why did this happen?′ and also to go back to your grower with feedback to improve the process. It′s paramount that office plants are looking good 365 days of the year. Well maintained office plants offer multiple benefits to the people who work around them.?These include people feeling healthier (physically and spiritually), breathing clean air with less toxins and offering a more aesthetically pleasing workplace.

Finally, engaging with the client is the start of an?ongoing professional trusting relationship to lead to a better service. After the plants and pots are chosen and installed, the planting is professionally maintained and should thrive alongside the growth of the company. With growth and company culture change happens, the plant design must adapt, whether it is moving plants to a new office or helping a client with their brand refresh or expansion plans. Special requests are also common - a once off extra maintenance visit for a visiting CEO, workshops, cut florals for a new baby’s birth, Work from Home plants for staff or women’s days gifts etc all add to the personal plant design service.