From August 30th – September 1, 2011 P.I.A.’s annual Plantscape Industry Expo took place at the South Point Hotel in Las Vegas. This interior plantscape expo attracts people in the industry from all over the U.S. each year, staying true to it’s motto “where the interiorscape industry grows.”
On Thursday, Sept 1st the expo came to an end at the Awards Gala where antendees were inducted into the Interior Plantscape Hall of Fame and recipients of the P.I.A. Awards were announced.
Janice Goodman & Amy Walker of Cityscapes were honored to accept an Award of Excellence in the Exterior Garden Category for Cityscapes’ Exterior Landscaping Designs at the Intercontinental Boston Hotel (image from the Awards Gala below). Cityscapes was awarded on exterior landscaping projects completed at the hotel between June of 2009 through October of 2010.
Janice Goodman and Amy Walker at the Awards Gala accepting the award
Janice Goodman with Bill Meade from Architectural Supplements who was also the Chairman of Exhibition
According to Janice Goodman, appropriate plant selection was the biggest challenge at the Intercontinental. Since the hotel is located on the waterfront, the plants have to be able to withstand the harsh winds and full sun throughout the day. We made it a priority to select plants that would thrive in this type of atmosphere. There are forty large terracotta containers encircling the back rotunda area of the hotel that get four seasonal rotations a year to always keep it fresh and colorful. We used a unique mirage of flowers and foliage each season including tropical yellow mandevilla trellis’, bright red hardy mums, coleus, geraniums, and rare hot pink oleander trees to give the space a “South Beach” feel. Take a look at some of the winning design photos below.
The planters at the front entrance and valet area of the hotel was also a difficult location for the plants to thrive due to its lack of light and exposure to heavy traffic. For Spring Cityscapes rotated fresh cut branches every six weeks such as forsythia, flowering quince, and the cherry blossoms pictured below. During other seasons such as summer, one rotation of tropical foliage such as bromeliads, succulents and phoenix roebellini (below right) was sufficient.
Meil Restaurant, located at the hotel, wanted to create an atmosphere similar to a “French Provence” while providing privacy for diners on their outdoor patio. In response to their request, we placed rectangular planters between each table to provide a screen filled with plants reminiscent of France. An herb garden was also installed so the diners can watch the chef pick fresh product for their meals! Fruiting citrus trees and flowering topiaires lined the walkway along the restaurant to accent the theme. (Below)
Some other categories that were judged in the design competition were Green Roofs, Living Walls, Horticultural Service, Major Renovation, Installation, and Design. To find out more about the P.I.A. Expo and Awards click here www.piagrows.org
