Personal Plant Service Newsletter

Well we hope you have caught your breath from the holidays, put away all your decorations and are ready to head into another year.  We wanted to get this newsletter to you sooner, but we have been busy helping you take your decorations down and replacing all your poinsettias with fresh color for the New Year.  In fact if we remain as busy as we have been the last 3 weeks, it is going to be a great year.  Despite the challenging economy, we have continued to get new customers and  instead of cutting corners we have remained  committed to providing our clients with quality service, creative designs and educating the public at large on the benefits of plants. Both Miko and Deb are certified within the industry for Interior Landscaping and this last month we had to gather all our hours to renew our certification which requires a minimum of 24 hours of continued education.  Our entire crew ended up having well over 150 hours combined in attending seminars, speaking and educating people of all ages and volunteering our time to benefit others, and having a lot of fun in the process! Some of my personal highlights were:

Presenting “Unlocking the Interior Plant Maze” at Rogers Gardens in the spring.

Going on a visit to Roger’s after the beach one day as a young teenager inspired me to explore the Horticulture field.  Having the opportunity to do a presentation 30 years later was a full circle moment for me!
In June the Special Olympics comes to Cal State Long Beach and Miko and I have loved volunteering at the Toyota Village  Pot-a-Plant booth these last several years together.  For more details check out an article Miko wrote, HERE or in our Therapy Section under Pot-A-Plant we have a bunch of great photos.

In July we had two opportunities to expose young minds to the wonders of plants. We set up a booth at the Grand Opening for Living Green Nursery (formally Laguna Hills Nursery). We taught children visiting the booth how to transplant houseplants which they got to take home.  We also educated the parents about the actual health benefits plants can offer the interior environment. Then a week later we got to teach a small group of children at the Pacific Club Kid’s Camp about photosynthesis; we painted pots and transplanted plants.  See the video HERE.  We had a blast!

Lastly in the fall we attended Calscape our yearly industry convention in San Diego.  Miko entered the color bowl competition and won second place! I was so proud of her and grateful she received recognition among our peers for her amazing creativity!

We look forward to serving you again this year, and making your world a greener place to be!

Get the Facts: How Interior Plants Benefit Employees in an Office

Do plants really make a difference in the work place?

In this fast paced technical age, employees are still a company’s  most valuable asset but they are also the most expensive. In terms of the cost per square foot, the human asset is 10 times more expensive than building operating costs, and nearly 100 times more than energy cost.  When a business  takes the steps to keep its human asset happy, everyone wins!

Our love for nature or Biophilia is now being recognized as an important factor when creating interior environments.  It is my hope in this short article that you will see more than just a plant the next time you enjoy the interior greenery that enhances your office space.

Employee Benefits

As an employee you may not be aware of the individual impact the plants in your interior environment are providing you.

1.  The installation of plants in an interior setting makes our everyday workplace a more desirable place to be. Having a pleasing environment gives us greater job satisfaction, and creates an atmosphere which inspire us and help us to be more creative and productive.

2.  Interior plants are natural air purifiers. In a NASA study interior plants were found to reduce airborne molds responsible for sick building syndrome in sealed office environments. Plants reduce the levels of carbon dioxide, increase relative humidity, reduce airborne dust leaves and reduce gassing levels of common interior pollutants such a  formaldehyde, benzene, and nitrogen dioxide.

3.  Interior plants reduce symptoms related to Sick Building Symptoms.  In a 2 year study in Norway in 1996 the following ailments:

Fatique  20% reduction
Headache  45% reduction
Sore/dry throats  30% reduction
Coughs  40% reduction
Dry facial skin  25% reduction

4.  It is widely known through the respected research that plants significantly lower work place stress.  Visual exposure to plant settings has produced significant recovery from stress within five minutes.

If you currently have an Interior Plant Service for your office, tell you Boss Thank You for providing for your well-being!!!

~The information shared above was gathered from two major sources.

The Green Plants for Green Buildings which is an international education and marketing operation dedicated to raising the awareness of the benefits of plants.
Their website http://www.greenplantsforgreenbuildings.org is full of articles and research.

The National Foliage Foundation is administered by the Florida Nursery, Growers and Landscape foundation and provides financial support for the foliage industry.
Their website is http://www.nationalfoliagefoundation.org

The Benefits of Indoor Plants in an Office

Learn a few ways in which Interior Plants are beneficial in an Office to Employees and Employers! Presented by Debra Ringler

Debra Ringler teaches Kids the Process of Photosynthesis

Deb teaches kids the process of Photosynthesis in this fun and interactive demonstration, where the kids get candy at the end to help them remember what they have learned.