Either way with a strong scent of jasmine, bbq’s and freshly mowed lawns in the air there’s going to be lots to do starting with our very own Spring Experts in-store beginning at 10am.

With a line up of some amazingly talented professionals such as Peter Fudge, Ken Pattinson and Georgia Harper you really must put aside just 15 min on Saturday to make a visit into one of showrooms (listed below) and make the most of this opportunity to meet these experts and bounce around some ideas for your very own outdoor space.

Their advice is free and it’s all very informal and relaxed, so just grab a coffee and pull up a seat and throw some questions out there.

Experts can be found at the showrooms below.

Georgia Harper > Richmond

Ken Pattinson > Brookvale

Peter Fudge > Waterloo

Keep watch of this space, as interviews with the experts themselves is to follow …

• Spring Expert In-Store

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www.etsy.com - Colourful Garden Shed magnet

Whether it be a place you store a few of those rusty gardening tools, your workshop retreat or a forever growing storage area, I’m sure we can all agree our humble little backyard dwellings leave much to be desired.

But don’t be disheartened, there are many ways to improve this outdoor space!  How about a bit of colour, maybe some plants of the edible kind ? … a few good outdoor furniture pieces that could turn your space into an extra room??…….the list goes on.

There’s no doubt a garden shed can be both stylish and practical, however it just might take a little more time and effort to get it up to scratch.

Check out the images below for some inspiration, peep over your neighbour’s fence for an idea or seek some handy advice from a landscaper/designer in your area and lets ‘embrace the emerging modern lifestyle of smaller but smarter spaces’.

• www.workshopshed.com

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• www.studio-shed.com

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• www.studio-shed.com

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• www.etsy.com - Colourful Garden Shed magnet

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• searchingforstyle.blogspot.com - Christie Brinkley_hamptons _shed

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• www.trendhunter.com - Living_wall_eathouse

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• design-ties.blogspot.com - gardenshedflickr

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• http://thegardenerscottage.blogspot.com - Garden + House

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Botanist Patrick Blanc has been bringing the wilds of the rainforests to Parisian walls for over 30 years, most recently at the Jean Nouvel–designed Quai Branly museum. One lucky family, however, doesn’t have to go any farther than their living room to take in the wonders of Blanc’s vertical gardens.

The creator of the “plant wall,” a living canvas for indoor and outdoor vertical space, is in high demand. His trademark technique for a top-down, no-fuss, no-muss irrigation system, not to mention the 30 years of botanical research on three continents under his belt, have made him an urban garden guru. Recent creations include the hip Pershing Hall hotel and the Fondation Cartier in Paris, the swanky Siam Paragon mall in Bangkok, boutiques in New York and Paris, and restaurants in Los Angeles and beyond. With the lavish opening of the Jean Nouvel–designed Musée du Quai Branly in Paris in June, where he created a lush, 8,600-square-foot façade with 15,000 plants, big-scale commissions are flooding in.

Blanc’s work began, however, with homes—notably his own, a tropical rainforest doubling as an apartment on the outskirts of Paris, in Créteil. Even as major jobs began to elbow out most private commissions, some homeowners managed to persuade Blanc to create outdoor vertical gardens, seeking to add a “rural” element to their city views. The indoor vertical garden—Blanc’s true calling as a low-light specialist—however, had to wait until 2004, when Jean-Marc Dimanche phoned 
up from his 4,400-square-foot home, which was under 
construction in the Left Bank’s 14th arrondissement, with an idea for the 20-by-23-foot interior wall that 
was beginning to take shape.

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Here at Eco we love a bit of green goodness in life and this little ditty from Pete in Sydney is no exception. It’s called a Vegetal Screen which I guess is supposed to mean vegetation cover or something of the like. The company Vertilignes tells us they are reinventing vegetation in the interior space and within urban architecture. Re-invention or not, it’s a super styling, super mod little greenbit that we’re loving.

So how does it work?

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A great take on the vertical green garden architectural wall is the living facade of this home in Singapore. Brendan points us in the direction of this gem from our friends at Habitus . The house has been designed to provide the family who lives there, with maximum garden space. From the stunning green planted facade to the rooftop terrace, this is green urban living at its most creative. Designed by Formwerkz, it’s a real treat for those of you into sustainable living and eco design. Check out the rest of the article and more pics over at Habitus.

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They irrigate the modules using Netafim in-line drip irrigation and a battery-powered timer/valve attached to a nearby hose bib.  In this case they run the irrigation along the top of the modules, and secure it in place using horticultural staples.  This makes it removable, and easy to inspect should there be a problem. All the plants are edible and able to be used on site which is fantastic.  Instead of covering up the sides of the panels with a screen or cover, they chose to grow in rosemary (in the sides), and lettuce and cabbage on the top. Nice.

Mario Batali’s Pizzeria Mozza restaurant in Los Angeles is located at 6602 Melrose Ave. in Los Angeles and worth checking out if you’re in the area. For those foodies among us, its sister restaurant Osteria Mozza [slightly more fancy pants and a little more hip] is quite possibly one of the best restaurants I’ve ever eaten in so worth a look next time you’re in LA.

And if you’re looking to explore the idea of vertical gardens a little closer to home, check out Lushe Gardens for some more inspiration.

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Hotel in Paris

Bangkok Emporium

“I knew of Patrick Blanc’s work far before I knew of him.  I had happened across a few of his installations during various travels.  Every time, I was stopped in my tracks in recognition of something truly amazing.  His vertical garden walls get me every time. Many are in France, but his work spans the globe.  Each is a textural tapestry of plants that offer green lushness to what is typically a surrounding area in dire need of something soft, living and fresh. The walls provide biodiversity in urban areas, help buildings with heating and cooling, clean the air, and to me, are some of the most beautiful and inspiring arrangements of plants I know.  Patrick Blanc is one of my design heroes – please…enjoy some of his work…”

Re-posted from Studio ‘g’

Each week Studio G profiles a different garden and explores what makes it interesting or special or unique. Not all the gardens they profile are delightful but they’re certainly unique. As we all know, when it comes to inspiration for innovation, creative input needs no reason it just needs regularlity so here it is folks. Eat up and enjoy. For those of you not familiar with Studio ‘g‘ – it’s a design blog written by Rochelle Greayer who runs Greayer Design Associates LLC. (a Boutique Design Firm that specializes in creating luxurious outdoor environments for Spa and Hospitality properties and Private Residences worldwide) based in Harvard, MA. dedicated to sharing landscape ideas, hotel resort and spa gardens, outdoor art and design and the latest in landscape products and services.

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