On this rainy Boston day, LAB Architect’s partner Stephanie Goldberg stopped by the Cityscapes greenhouse to pick out plants for the living walls that Cityscapes’ Jan Goodman will be installing for Goldberg. The Living Walls will be installed at Harvard University on the 10th floor of the William James Hall building which accommodates three professors of psychology, their laboratories and graduate students as well as shared conference and lounge spaces. The Living Walls will also be submitted under the innovative catergory in hopes to achieve LEED points.

Pictured: Cityscapes President Jan Goodman and LAB Architects Partner Stephanie Goldberg picking out plants for the new Harvard University Living Wall.

Cityscapes’ newest horticulturist Juan Ortiz teams up with Senior Horticulturist Alex Masella and Owner of Oasis Plantscaping Brad Dehaven to learn how to accurately install plants into a living wall.

Juan, Brad, and Alex place the plants into the living wall bed.

 

Installing plants into the living wall Pictured: Juan Ortiz (left) Brad Dehaven (right)

 Check out Cityscapes and Oasis on twitter for more information.

@Oasis_Plants

@CityscapesInc1

Cityscapes would like to welcome and introduce their new horticulturist Sam Robertson.

Pictured: Sam Robertson watering the plants in the office.

Check out this article entitled Nature that Nurtures published in this months Scientfic American Magazine. The article covers the positive effects nature has in the hospital environment.

Image credited to Scientific America’s Shawn Nielsen

Cityscapes President Jan Goodman and Paul Cavicchio owner of Cavicchios Nursery at New England Grows.

On February 1^st 2012 New England Grows kicked off their annual trade show and green industry seminars at the Boston Convention & Exhibition center.

Cityscapes designers and buyers were in attendance along with 13,000+ other green industry professionals,  all looking for the latest  and greatest in exterior landscape plant varieties and designs. Cityscapes President Jan Goodman also networked with new and current vendors to find out what is happening on the growers end of things.  Their designers attended  seminars on new plant varieties and native plants for ideas for the upcoming seasons. Cityscapes is looking forward to the spring plantings which are right around the corner and are excited to utilize all the information they gathered  .

Nice holly fern and Tillandsia's in birch containers.

September 15, 2011 (Boston, MA) – The public gathered in Boston’s Back Bay for Carbon Day in an effort to reduce our carbon footprint in the city of Boston.  The  exhibits on display included programs for tree and green space stewardship, green roof and living wall technology,  innovative varieties of  electric transportation,  and information about new plans for electricity use in our city and state.  This year Cityscapes supported the cause by participating in the Urban Foliage exhibit.  Cityscapes displayed two of their free-standing, portable living walls and provided information about the extensive benefits indoor plants and living walls can provide to your space.  The event was sponsored by Boston University Center for Energy and Environmental Studies and Clean Energy and Environmental Sustainability Initiative.

Please take a look at some photos from the event:

Jennifer Berube of Cityscapes, manning the exhibit

For more information about the benefits of plants click here: http://www.greenplantsforgreenbuildings.org

Lights,Camera,Action!!

Exciting Happenings at Cityscapes!

September 28, 2011 – At 9:30 P.M. last Wednesday evening, DIY Network aired their “Brave New World” episode of This New House.  The episode included segments on the “New Old Green Modular Home,” a safe and natural way to get rid of ticks and mosquitos, window wells, and of course Cityscapes vertical gardens also known as Living Walls.

Co-Host of This New House, Kevin O’Connor, along with the rest of the film crew shot the segment in Cityscape’s Living Wall Showroom/Greenhouse in the heart of Boston’s Back Bay back in April 2011.  Janice Goodman, President/Owner of Cityscapes, was featured front and center as she guided Kevin through the process of planting an herb “picture wall” for her office.  Janice showcased a variety of systems and custom designs that are available through the latest Living Wall technology.  She also talked about the significant benefits that indoor plants can have on people.  Cityscapes is featured during the last eight minutes of the episode…check it out!!

Below are some pictures from the set!!

Janice Goodman teaching Kevin O’Connor the basics of Living Wall systems.

Janice Goodman with Kevin O’Connor from This New House

This is one of the beautiful living walls that was planted during the shoot!

For more information regarding this episode, click this link: http://www.diynetwork.com/this-new-house/brave-new-world/index.html

Mark Your Calendars!

September 19th through 23rd is

National Indoor Plant Week!

Why PLANTS you may ask?

Studies show that house and office plants can provide great benefits including:

• Stress Reduction
• Purified Air
• Illness Reduction
• Dust Reduction
• Lowered Energy Costs
• Noise Reduction
• Sparks of Creativity
• Mood Elevation
• Distraction Reduction
• Improved Appearance of any area

If you are interested in adding some green to your office, hotel, or residence please Contact Us

August 18 – 20, 2011 – Boston GreenFest was held at Boston City Hall Plaza this year.  Boston GreenFest, organized by the Foundation for a Green Future, Inc., is the region’s largest multicultural environmental festival that celebrates the many ways we can create a better world by greening our lives and our communities.

Cityscapes joined up with the GLTi team and showcased three of their free-standing living walls for the three day event.  Janice Goodman of Cityscapes gave George Irwin, President of Green Living Technologies, support during his hands on demonstration of a green roof installation by answering questions for attendees and bystanders.  Participation in George’s demonstration offered AIA credits at no cost to attendees.   Take a look at Cityscapes/GLTi’s exhibit at GreenFest and the Roof Garden from George’s demonstration below.

Pembroke, MA/Boston, MA, July 1, 2011 – Janice Goodman, President and Owner of Boston based premier plantscaping company Cityscapes, welcomed the staff from the DIY Network’s show Indoors Out (www.diynetwork.com) to redesign her backyard into an outdoor living space.  The hosts of Indoors Out, Dean Marsico and Derek Stearns, both professional stonemasons and contractors, base their show around transforming boring backyards into functional living spaces.  Included in the redesign was an outdoor kitchen and bar under the cover of a gorgeous wooden pergola, an edible living wall, a pond with a waterfall, and a lounging area.  The final result was nothing less than stunning!

This project presented the opportunity for Cityscapes to install a residential outdoor living wall.  Using Green Living Technologies (www.agreenroof.com) patented stainless steel panel wall system, two 6′ by 4′ walls were kitty cornered and backed with stone by the outdoor kitchen.  Janice specifically designed and planted the wall with herbs and edible plants so she would have easy access to use them when she is cooking for or entertaining family or guests in the outdoor kitchen.

Throughout the design phase and installation process, a few local companies lent a helping hand.  Don Carney of Carney Tree & Landscape (www.carneylandscape.com) in Duxbury helped the team design the outdoor space.  The extensive stonework surrounding the kitchen, bar, and living wall was installed by CC Nightscape (www.stoneworksbyccnightscape.com) of Cohasset.  Using a combination of stones and boulders found around the Goodman’s residence, Shades of Green (www.shadesofgreenldm.com) of Pembroke designed and installed the beautiful pond complete with a waterfall.  Specialty plants including Japanese Maples and Conifers were purchased from Katsura Gardens (www.katsuragardens.com); a local nursery.  Patrick J. Gannon Construction (www.trustthisbiz.com/patrickjgannon_construction) of Weymouth built the structure for the living wall and erected the pergola.  The pergola was donated by Average Joe’s Pergola Depot (www.pergoladepot.com).

The installation and filming began on June 26th and wrapped up on June 28th.  The show is set to air in the Spring of 2012.  Cityscapes living walls will also be featured in another DIY Network show, This New House, this upcoming July.