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Landscape Design and Construction The East Conservatory Plaza at Longwood Gardens, Kennett Square, Pa., features the largest indoor green wall in North America. tion can be accommodated but the budget may be higher for a green wall location far from water lines and with no natural light. * Survivability of plants requires appropriate lighting— Most interior living walls require supplemental lighting. Establish- ing healthy lighting for plants entails knowing the light require- ments of specific plant species, performing light studies, and collaborating with the electrician to specify fixtures to meet those requirements. Metal halide light fixtures and lamps provide the closest color temperature to natural sunlight and assist to promote photosynthesis, which is critical for plant survival. Adding photo luminescent sensors to the green wall is a smart decision, as it can reduce the electric consumption. * Plant selection is key— Your selection of featured green wall plants should be based upon microclimate conditions, plant growth habits, and the availability of light. An exterior north-fac- ing wall requires an entirely different plant palette than a south- or west-facing wall. For example, featured plants on exterior walls in the arid southwest climate differ from what can be used in the cold Midwest. Plants for interior walls are chosen to reflect low, medium and high light scenarios. Interior tropical plants require a minimum of 10 to 12 hours of at least 150 foot candles of light per day to flourish. In a typical commercial hotel environment, there are on average about 30 to 40 foot candles of light vs. 5,000 to 10,000 foot candles of light that can be found outside on a bright sunny day. Interior plants that thrive in low light (75 to 150 foot candles) include the Scindapsus and Philodendron genus such 16 Landscape and Irrigation November/December 2011 as the Silver Satin Pothos, Neon Pothos, Golden Pothos, Jade Pothos, and Heart-leaf Philodendron. Medium light thriving plants (100-250 foot candles) include the Dallas Fern, Cretan Brake Fern, Rabbit Foot Fern, Begonia and Peperomia species. For environments with maxi- mum light (150 to 250 foot candles), plants such as the Alocasia Amazonica, Hawaiian Schefflera, Hedera Ivy, Purple Waffle Plants and Creeping Fig are ideal. The average person today spends about 90 percent of their time indoors, with about half of the world's population living in cities. Green walls improve a building's air quality, and enhance the emotional and physical well being of the people who come into contact with them. Green walls act as acoustic barriers, which can counter the noise pollution that plagues urban dwellers. Green walls harmonize buildings with nature, and provide a living canvas for green wall professions to add the beauty of nature to any man- made structure. LI Denise Eichmann is senior project manager and design expert for Am- bius, a leader of enriching the workplace. She is internationally recognized for the design and construction of uniquely challenging, one-of-a-kind sus- tainable landscape projects. Eichmann is a Certified Landscape Profes- sional (CLP) whose newest area of expertise focuses on the design, construction and installation of vertical gardens and living walls. She can be reached via e-mail at denise.eichmann@ambius.com. www.landscapeirrigation.com