One assisted living provider from West Michigan recognized the market readiness for a planted green wall system that was designed to easily grow healthy plants that provide an abundant harvest of edibles.  A vertical garden by LiveWall® was successfully installed in April 2012 at the Grand Pines Assisted Living Center in Grand Haven, MI.  Heritage Properties Management, which owns and operates the facility, is so impressed with the vertical herb garden that they company’s President, Scott Reenders, has implemented similar projects at several of other facilities this spring.

“I’m always receiving positive feedback from family members regarding the fresh herbs,” Reenders said.  “In a recent resident survey, there were several positive comments on the green wall.  The promotional value alone would have made the green wall worthwhile, but we also benefit from the large volume of herbs that we harvest from our wall throughout the growing season.”  Reenders estimates that his wall yields about one ounce of herbs and greens per square foot per week during the growing season.

With a wholesale herb price of $0.50 per ounce a green wall can produce $15 to $25 worth of fresh produce per square foot annually.  Factor in the waste reduction that comes with only cutting what is needed and the expense saved in transportation, and the wall produces enough to pay for itself in herbs alone in just a couple of years.

The word of mouth value of a living wall cannot be overestimated.  “Our living wall is near our front entrance,” said Reenders, “showing all prospective residents and their families that our facilities are different, that we care enough to provide fresh food.”

Aaron Shapiro, the facility’s chef, said he only had one complaint, joking, “There are so many herbs,” he said, “I’ve had to come up with new recipes.”  He added that the Grand Pines healthy menu is salt-free, and the herbs greatly enhance the meals.  When not in season, he harvests the herbs and dries them for use throughout the year.”

LiveScreen is a fully assembled version of LiveWall which is wheel=mounted for easy access and moving.  “We are also using LiveScreen at several of our other facilities this spring,” said Reenders.  “In addition, we ordered wall planter inserts fully grown with popular, more expensive herbs such as rosemary and oregano, so we can start cooking with them as soon as they arrive.”

LiveWall, LLC will showcase its living walls solutions at this year’s National Restaurant Association Show at McCormick Place in Chicago, Illinois on May 18-12.  In addition to enhancing chef prepared meals in restaurants and hospitality, LiveWall will promote living walls for use as dividers that add organic ambiance and privacy to diners.

To learn more about LiveWall, visit our website at www.livewall.com.

Download high res images from Flickr.

About LiveWal®

LiveWall is a vertical, green landscape will system that makes it easy for anyone to create and maintain a beautiful, organic, sustainable garden no matter where the space, transforming ordinary walls into inspiring vertical landscapes.  Designed with a healthy regard for plants and to last decades, the LiveWall system supports plants as nature intended, with roots growing down, stems and leaves growing up and the plants are watered with rain-like misters.  Simple, effective and attractive, LiveWall is the result of four years of research and development by the professionals who created LiveRoof.

One company from West Michigan recognized the market readiness for a planted green wall system that was designed to easily grow healthy plants that would provide and abundant harvest of edibles. Dave MacKenzie, president and founder of LveWall and LiveRoof, explained that the available living wall solutions may have looked pretty for marketing photos, but failed to provide for basic plant needs, which resulted in the plant’s steady decline. “It was a long road to simplicity,” states MacKenzie. “It took years of research and testing to develop a system that is designed to last and to provide a positive payback.”

The resulting LiveWall system offers a simply installed, easily maintained, and high producing green wall. The first commercial LiveWall was successfully installed in April 2012 at the Grand Pines Assisted Living Center in Grand Haven, MI. President Scott Reenders is so impressed with the vertical garden that he plans to implement similar projects at several of his other facilities this spring.

“It made the front page of our local paper,” Reenders said. “You cannot buy publicity like that. The promotional value alone would have made the green wall worthwhile but we also benefit from the large volume of herbs that we harvest from our wall, year after year.” Reenders estimates that his wall yields about one ounce of herbs and greens per square foot per week during the growing season.

With wholesale herb prices of $1 to $3 pe3r ounce, a green wall can produce anywhere from $25 to $150 per square foot of fresh produce annually. Factor in the waste reduction that comes with only cutting what is needed and the expense saved in transportation, and the wall produces enough to pay for itself in herbs alone in two years or less.

The word of mouth value of a living wall cannot be underestimated. “Our living wall is near our office entrance” said Reenders, “showing every prospective resident and their family that our facilities are different, that we care enough to provide fresh food. Our LiveWall serves as a direct reflection of how we care about their other lifestyle issues, too.” In fact, the LiveWall routinely receives high marks in surveys completed by residents and family members.

Aaron Shapiro, the facility’s chef, said he only had one complaint, joking, “There are so many herbs,” he said, “I’ve had to come up with new recipes.” He added that the Grand Pines healthy menu is salt-free, and the herbs greatly enhance the meals. When not in season, he harvests the herbs and dries them for use throughout the year. “Our favorite part of each day,” Shapiro said, “is heading out to our LiveWall to harvest fresh herbs.”

LiveScreen is a fully assembled version of LiveWall which is wheel-mounted for easy access and moving. “We are also using LiveScreen at several of our other facilities this spring,” Reenders said. “In addition, we ordered wall planter inserts fully grown with popular, more expensive herbs such as rosemary and oregano, so we can start cooking with them as soon as they arrive.”

LiveWall, LLC will showcase its living walls solutions at this year’s Assisted Living Federation of America annual conference and exhibition in Charlotte, N.C. on May 7 and 8. In addition to enhancing chef prepared meals at senior and assisted living communities, LiveWall will promote living walls for resident enjoyment and therapy.

About LiveWall:

LiveWall is a vertical, green landscape wall system that makes it easy for anyone to create and maintain a beautiful, organic, sustainable garden no matter where the space, transforming ordinary walls into inspiring vertical landscapes. Designed to last decades and with a healthy regard for plants, the LiveWall planted wall system achieves simplicity and and sustainability in harmony with nature. The LiveWall system supports plants as nature intended, with roots growing down, stems and leaves growing up and the plants are watered with rain-like misters. Simple, effective and attractive, LiveWall is the result of four years of research and development by the professionals who created LiveRoof.

Not just blooming gardens in parks and along boulevards but also year-round planted walls. In other words, living walls or, as the New York Times headlined the phenomena, “Gardens That Grow On Walls” with products from companies like LiveWall, LLC, located not far from here.

This year the first of the 86-million strong Millennials generation turns thirty. And because they will begin seeking greener and more serene space and an escape from urban noise and air pollution, demographers are predicting a reverse flight to the suburbs of up to twenty-five percent these highly desirable residents. With them would go a big chuck of these cities’ tax base.

For more than a decade, America’s best cities have ridden a population boom of young people fueled by hip coffee shops, ubiquitous WiFi, abundant office space, good public transportation, performance centers and a new generation of lofts and other cool living spaces.

The aggregation of all of these factors lured young entrepreneurs into the cities followed by the highly educated and technically astute employees who support them. Owning a car proved unnecessary if you live in downtown Denver, Dallas, Austin, Portland, Seattle, Chicago, Boston or Washington, D.C. This savings permits these knowledge workers instead to purchase smart phones, tablets, sophisticated applications and other must-have tools of the tech-savvy.

No surprise that instead of forsaking the intellectual hot houses found in today’s best cities and submitting to time-wasting suburban commutes, some Millennials are addressing their concerns for stress reduction, better breathing, and greener lifestyles by erecting a LiveWall vertical garden, both inside and outside of their urban residences and offices. In other words, they are making their beloved cities bloom.

“LiveWall makes a vertical garden that may be securely attached to both indoor and outdoor walls,” explains David S. MacKenzie, CEO of the 115-acre greenhouse empire that distributes everything one needs for a thriving, year-round living wall through a national dealer network. LiveWall is a sister company to LiveRoof, LLC, from which MacKenzie helped drive the green roof revolution across the US in the 21st Century.

MacKenzie studied an array of rush-to-market products and the rows of dead flower boxes that some competitors produced. Instead, LiveWall has made today’s best living wall designs easy-to-install, low maintenance, sustainable and durable. MacKenzie’s green wall designs even perform carefully metered self-watering, enabling their owners to travel without fear that their plants will die. A planted wall’s contributions to heating and cooling energy reduction, better breathing, and mental and physical health are heralded monthly across lifestyle, health and medical publications and by television programs like The Today Show. Follow the link for more on the benefits of LivWall.

“With our living wall, you can mix ornamentals for color and patterns and delightful aromas, but you can also grow herbs so that anyone who cooks can boast of a year-round gourmet kitchen,” MacKenzie says, “enabling downtown restaurants and loft dwellers alike to serve savory dishes at every meal.

“It’s the perfect answer for those people who love living and working downtown and don’t want to spend 15 hours a week commuting in a car. One look and people are intrigued,” MacKenzie reports. “What persuades them are LiveWall’s contributions to thermal insulation, noise and stress reduction, and the sheer natural beauty it is possible to create even in a few hundred feet of living space.”

“People in technology talk constantly about tech transfer,” MacKenzie observes. “LiveWall is making it possible for these same people to engage in ‘green transfer,’ in other words, bringing the health-giving qualities of natural plants right into their urban homes and offices.

“Of course the low cost of installation and maintenance are compelling, too,” MacKenzie adds.

“And who wouldn’t forego an expensive and exhausting commute with its plume of carbon emissions for that?” he asks.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, contact Amber Poncé, +1 616-935-1964, AmberP@LiveWall.com, www.livewall.com

“LiveWall provides a new option for adding the living beauty of greenery onto any building,” said David Fell, owner of Hawaiian Sunshine Nursery. “With unequaled versatility, LiveWall can create green walls planted with annuals, perennials, succulents and tropical plants. It can even be used to turn a plain wall into an herb or vegetable garden.”

This innovative system which grows healthy plants is simple enough for do-it-yourself installations by homeowners or company employees. It can be custom designed to create unique wall installations on large commercial buildings or purchased as a smaller kit, with or without automatic irrigation. Living walls benefit owners by providing fresh produce, cooling the building, and enhancing the atmosphere for residents, employees and visitors.

LiveWall is engineered to be attractive, simple to install on most walls, easy to maintain and change, and healthy for plants. LiveWall is the result of four years of research and development by the same team of horticultural scientists, landscape professionals, architects, roofing specialists and green building experts at Hortech who created LiveRoof®, the green roof system proven successful in more than 800 installations. LiveWall, like LiveRoof, makes horticultural sense. It gives plants what they need in growing conditions modeled after those found in the natural landscape.

“We developed LiveWall in much the same way we developed LiveRoof. After extensive evaluation of existing planted wall systems, we engineered LiveWall to surpass them,” said Dave MacKenzie, horticulturalist and president of Hortech, Inc., Spring Lake, Mich. “As a licensed regional representative, Hawaiian Sunshine Nursery, Inc. brings its local horticultural expertise to every LiveWall project in Hawaii.

“We provide complete pre-installation consultation and on-site technical support to ensure success,” said David Fell. “Just as with LiveRoof, we help choose the right plants for each LiveWall project. Hawaiian Sunshine Nursery, Inc. delivers the module inserts full of locally grown plants that are mature and flourishing for instant results and lasting beauty.”

About Hawaiian Sunshine Nursery, Inc.
Hawaiian Sunshine Nursery, Inc. (www.hawaiinursery.com) is a family owned and operated nursery specializing in bromeliads and other tropical plants. Originally established in 1978, Hawaiian Sunshine Nursery has over 25 acres under cultivation at multiple locations. As part of their commitment to quality, Hawaiian Sunshine Nursery is constantly improving its facilities and researching better propagation and cultivation methods. Their dedicated staff of growers and horticulturists provide the individual attention needed to ensure that each plant sold is healthy and of the best quality. For more information call 1-800-424-2053.

About LiveWall®
Designed with a healthy regard for plants, LiveWall® (www.livewall.com) is the planted wall system that achieves simplicity and sustainability in harmony with nature. LiveWall is the result of four years of R&D by the professionals who created LiveRoof®, the superior green roof system. LiveWall supports plants as nature intended — roots growing down, stems and leaves growing up. With unsurpassed versatility to grow a diversity of plant types, LiveWall transforms ordinary walls into inspiring vertical landscapes. LiveWall is simple, effective and attractive. The system’s WallTer® planter modules slide into the revolutionary RainRail® mounting tracks, which secure them in place and provide integrated mist irrigation. Just as with LiveRoof, licensed regional growers customize plant selection for every LiveWall project. They deliver the module inserts abundantly vegetated with locally cultivated plants that are full-grown and thriving for immediate success and enduring beauty. For more information, call 877-554-4013.

LiveWall will be staffing booth #531 until the show ends on March 17.  Tickets may be purchased at the show or online at chicagoflower.com.

Whether you’re converting to energy saving light bulbs, driving gas efficient cars, or recycling more everyone seems to be looking to make their world a little greener these days. Now, one Spring Lake, Michigan based company has another innovative product available which will make a huge impact on the green movement throughout the nation. This new green wall product is called LiveWall.

“LiveWall provides a new option for adding the living beauty of greenery onto any building,” says Dave MacKenzie, president and founder of LiveWall. “With unequaled versatility, LiveWall can create green walls planted with annuals, perennials, succulents and tropical plants. We are excited about the unlimited possibilities.”  This system can also be used to turn a plain wall into an herb or vegetable garden.

This innovative system which grows healthy plants is simple enough for do-it-yourself installations by homeowners or company employees. It can be custom designed to create unique wall installations on large commercial buildings or purchased as a smaller kit, with or without automatic irrigation. The company will also display LiveScreen, an American-made, mobile, fully assembled version of LiveWall that comes two-sided on wheels, fully assembled and ready to plant.

LiveWall is engineered to be attractive, simple to install on most walls, easy to maintain and change, and healthy for plants. The LiveWall system’s WallTer^® planter modules slide into the revolutionary RainRail^® mounting tracks, which secure them in place and include hidden conduits and built-in nozzles for integrated mist irrigation. The WallTer is manufactured using recycled architectural grade plastic, with a six inch depth by five inch wide structure that comes in 8-inch and 16-inch lengths. WallTer inserts may be preordered fully grown or planted from seed or plugs and are simply placed into the modules on site.

LiveWall® – A New Way To Grow Vertically

LiveWall® is the result of four years of research and development by the same team of horticultural scientists, landscape professionals, architects, roofing specialists and green building experts at Hortech® who created LiveRoof^®, the green roof system proven successful in more than 800 installations.  LiveWall, like LiveRoof, makes horticultural sense. It gives plants what they need in growing conditions like those found in the natural landscape.

“We developed LiveWall in much the same way we developed LiveRoof. After extensive evaluation of existing planted wall systems, we engineered LiveWall to surpass them,” says Dave MacKenzie, horticulturalist and president of Hortech, Spring Lake, Michigan

About LiveWall^®

Designed with a healthy regard for plants, LiveWall^® is a planted wall system that achieves simplicity and sustainability in harmony with nature. LiveWall is the result of four years of R&D by the professionals who created LiveRoof^®.  LiveWall supports plants as nature intended with the roots growing down, stems and leaves growing up. With unsurpassed versatility to grow a diversity of plant types, LiveWall transforms ordinary walls into inspiring vertical landscapes. LiveWall is simple, effective and attractive. The system’s WallTer^® planter modules slide into the revolutionary RainRail^® mounting tracks, which secure them in place and provide integrated mist irrigation.  As with LiveRoof, licensed regional growers customize plant selection for every LiveWall project. They deliver the module inserts abundantly vegetated with locally cultivated full-grown, thriving plants for immediate success and enduring beauty.

“LiveWall provides a new option for adding the living beauty of greenery onto any building,” says Dave MacKenzie, president and founder of LiveWall and LiveRoof. “With unequaled versatility, LiveWall can create green walls planted with annuals, perennials, succulents and tropical plants. We are excited about the unlimited possibilities.”  This system can also be used to turn a plain wall into an herb or vegetable garden.

This innovative system which grows healthy plants is simple enough for do-it-yourself installations by homeowners or company employees. It can be custom designed to create unique wall installations on large commercial buildings or purchased as a smaller kit, with or without automatic irrigation. The company will also display LiveScreen, an American-made, mobile, fully assembled version of LiveWall that comes two-sided on wheels, fully assembled and ready to plant.

LiveWall® is the result of four years of research and development by the same team of horticultural scientists, landscape professionals, architects, roofing specialists and green building experts at Hortech® who created LiveRoof^®, the green roof system proven successful in more than 800 installations.  LiveWall, like LiveRoof, makes horticultural sense. It gives plants what they need in growing conditions like those found in the natural landscape.

“We developed LiveWall in much the same way we developed LiveRoof. After extensive evaluation of existing planted wall systems, we engineered LiveWall to surpass them,” says Dave MacKenzie, horticulturalist and president of Hortech, Spring Lake, Michigan.

The Philadelphia Water Department (PWD) supports green storm water management tools such as green roofs, which are included in the Stormwater Management Incentives Program (SMIP) that offers incentives and assistance to non-residential PWD customers.  This is because green roofs offer substantial benefits.  Besides being beautiful, LiveRoof’s vegetation soaks up rainfall and reduces storm water runoff.  The green roof helps reduce rooftop temperatures during summer, thereby protecting and extending the life of the roof membrane.  Green roofs are estimated to double the life of roofing materials and they work as insulation to reduce heating and cooling costs. 

About LiveWall^®

Designed with a healthy regard for plants, LiveWall^® (http://www.livewall.com) is a planted wall system that achieves simplicity and sustainability in harmony with nature. LiveWall is the result of four years of R&D by the professionals who created LiveRoof^®.  LiveWall supports plants as nature intended with the roots growing down, stems and leaves growing up. With unsurpassed versatility to grow a diversity of plant types, LiveWall transforms ordinary walls into inspiring vertical landscapes. LiveWall is simple, effective and attractive. The system’s WallTer^® planter modules slide into the revolutionary RainRail^® mounting tracks, which secure them in place and provide integrated mist irrigation.  As with LiveRoof, licensed regional growers customize plant selection for every LiveWall project. They deliver the module inserts abundantly vegetated with locally cultivated full-grown, thriving plants for immediate success and enduring beauty.

About LiveRoof^®

LiveRoof (http://www.liveroof.com) is the horticultural science company that developed the LiveRoof® Hybrid System: the only green roof solution installed as a naturally functioning ecosystem with thriving, fully mature plants. Combining the best elements of proven green roof technologies, LiveRoof establishes a seamless vegetative surface rooted in a continuous layer of soil. This design maximizes environmental benefits, energy savings and rooftop aesthetics. Regional growers in its national network adapt LiveRoof plants for local conditions and customize plant selection for every project. LiveRoof’s natural function and natural beauty offer the highest level of green roof performance at the lowest level of acquisition-installation-maturation-maintenance costs. The proof is on the roof — showcased in LiveRoof projects that stand out as signature elements on commercial, public, university and school buildings in more than two dozen states and Canada.