Whether you live in a concrete jungle or a suburban paradise, it's only natural to want to introduce outdoor elements to your indoor surroundings.
And while some folks can get decent mileage from floral arrangements and houseplants, horticulturalist Nikki Bouchier is taking the outdoors-indoors movement to new heights.
The owner of Winnipeg-based Off the Wall Greenscapes, Bouchier aims to create a more equitable balance between the two settings, via stunning indoor landscaping arrangements that go well beyond the usual ferns and ficus plants.
From living walls and vertical gardens made entirely of low-maintenance greenery, to budding art installations and wall coverings comprised of self-sustaining preserved moss, Bouchier's offerings build on what environmentalist E.O. Wilson dubbed biophilia — the innate human urge to make connections with nature.
"That's just our basic instinct," Bouchier says. "Taking nature indoors helps people to make those connections, and overall the health benefits are just amazing."
Launched in 2015, Off the Wall got its start when reps from a local office furniture retailer contacted Bouchier about a living wall system they were about to add to their showroom.
"They had me research it and plant it and take care of it," she recalls. "As I was getting to know this living wall system — and after talking to a bunch of other people who do interior landscaping throughout Canada and the U.S. — I discovered there were lots of different systems that comply with different applications and settings, and that worked in different ways and with different budgets."
Having studied horticulture since high school, and with years of experience working in landscaping and forestry, Bouchier enrolled in a self-employment program through the YMCA, and soon afterwards branched off on her own.
Though living walls and other interior landscaping elements had cropped up in cities like Vancouver and Edmonton a few years earlier, the trend hadn't yet taken root in Winnipeg.
"I thought, 'We need more of this, especially in Winnipeg, because it's so much better of an environment for all different types of interiors,' " Bouchier says. "There were all these studies that I was reading as far as the benefits of surrounding yourself with plants."
On the retail side, research has shown consumers are willing to spend more when surrounded by greenery — hence the ubiquitous clusters of potted plants in shopping malls. And in schools and office buildings, indoor landscaping has been shown to increase creativity and productivity.
Then there's the not insignificant matter of improved air quality, which in a city like Winnipeg helps during winter months, when opening a window isn't always an option.
"NASA did a study and came up with the top 10 plants for air filtration," says Bouchier. "And we do use a lot of those top 10 plants in our walls, so … just creating that indoor oxygen exchange, that alone is going to improve health."
Interior landscaping can also help reduce ambient noise and create an overall sense of calm — in particular, some of Bouchier's more expansive products, such as custom green and living walls comprised of rows of different plant varieties, and decorative wall installations made of moss and foliage that's been preserved with glycerine.
The green walls are mostly modular potted systems — though in one option, plants grow directly into a felt or fabric structure — and all involve soil-less growing media, with irrigation occurring via wicking or timed drip. The same is true of the walls' more customizable counterparts, which include freestanding cabinets and room dividers and "live frames" of vertical foliage art — all lower-cost options that are quicker to install and require less maintenance.
Even easier to look after are the preserved moss installations, which require no watering at all — though they may lose a bit of their lustre in January and February.
"We tell people to leave it alone, that it is a piece of art, so just don't touch it during those months … come spring, when the air conditioning comes back on and the heat isn't on so much, it'll spring right back to its original state."
Having won the award for Best Small Space at this year's Winnipeg Home & Garden Show, Bouchier is already planning her next display at the Winnipeg Renovation Show in early January.
Until then, she'll be busy with new-client consultations and scheduled maintenance calls — all the while spreading the word to home and business owners that green is good.
"A lot of these products are seen as a luxury item," she says. "But I find there's a bit of a necessity in there, as well."
