Venice, California

A Transparent Living Wall

The only vertical garden that glows!  Airplantman green walls are transparent allowing light and air to pass through, perfect for when you want a screen, not a wall.   In Southern California outdoor living is key.  This Venice, California home had everything except an appealing view toward the neighbor when approaching the front door.  Airplantman came to the rescue, creating a floating and semi-transparent living screen to hide unsightly views which providing a dramatic entry feature.  The wood deck in the project's front yard was both a hang out space and daily part of the home's entry experience so it needed to be perfect.  Lightweight and soil-less this installation delighted potential buyers for this home staging piece and future owners.  While we love to design fully integrated installations in a pinch the ease of our AirplantFrame vertical garden can be used to fix many a challenge.  In this case we wanted to maintain light and air while also providing a beautiful green focal point that doubles as a screen.  Using an existing trellis structure we were able to use the modular design of our standard 11"x18" AirplantFrame to create a larger hanging living wall.  Using our design's flexibility we were able to suspend the frames from above while also seamlessly linking them together and create a floating living wall hovering above the home's wood deck.  This checked all our design goal boxes including highlighting the unique soil-less abilities of Tillandsia, elevating design through a refined aesthetic, and functionally addressing the projects challenges.  

Keeping it Green

Care on this project was a breeze, literally with the mild coastal climate of Southern California combined with this partly shaded location.  All this combined for some happy airplants.  A simple spray from a hose regularly keeps the plants happy.  The ideal air circulation provided by our open design allowed the plants to thrive and flourish.  The new owners were excited to purchase this piece when they fell in love with it while touring the home and we couldn't have been happier!   

Plants

This project featured a dense planting highlighting the grid form of our AirplantFrame design.  Lots of blushing ionantha were mixed with blooming fasciculata specimens with giant inflorescences 'breaking' the geometry of the frames.  Concolor, brachycaulos, stricta and other blooming varieties provide a variation of textures, colors, and forms that draw the eye throughout the piece.  We think of our AirplantFrames like painting a picture with plants, carefully placing them to create movement, balance and drama that holds the eye.  Each piece is different, changing, and a new challenge.  It's what we love and keeps us endlessly engage with this unique form of art.