Artists, philanthropists, gallerists, collectors, and entertainment world notables gathered at the Hammer Museum’s eighth annual Gala in the Garden on October 9, 2010. The Gala, which raised over $1 million for the Hammer’s renowned exhibitions and public programs, was held in the Museum’s elegant outdoor courtyard and honored artist Charles Ray and author, chef, and food activist Alice Waters. The event was co-chaired by Viveca Paulin-Ferrell and Will Ferrell and featured tribute speeches by artist Jeff Wall for Ray and actress Jane Fonda for Waters. A “living wall” of plants, designed by Woolly Pockets, was featured as a backdrop to the presentation stage –a nod to Water’s commitment to sustainability – and helped create the rich and textured elements of the overall decor.

We are proud to show off such a spectacular living wall (2 Wally Ones), designed by woolly customer, Brian Chapman. We are impressed! The plant selection and arrangement couldn’t be more stunning. For someone who claims to not have the greenest of thumbs, we think he just revealed a hidden talent!

Brian also posed an excellent install question about planting Wally’s.

“Normally when you first plant something you water it heavily, so what’s the recommendation for the Wally’s given that they’re inside and can only hold so much water?”

When planting Wally’s indoors we recommend soaking the plants in a large bucket of water before planting (still in their containers). Fully submerge them until there aren’t any more air bubbles, and then set them inside an empty bucket (on an inverted can) or in an empty sink until all the water drains out. This way the plants are nice and moist before planting them, and they’ll be less likely to shock during the transplanting process.

After filling your mounted pocket with soil (about half way), remove the pots and plant the moist plants in their new home, with their root ball towards the back of the pocket directly touching the ‘tongue’. When all your plants are in, gently pack soil around the roots to eliminate any air pockets, especially in the corners and under the straps. For complete step-by-step guide, click on the video below to watch our youtube video of how to install a Wally!

I was personally very intrigued by the hanging branches he installed above the pockets and Brian was so kind to fill me in. They are Algue, made by Vitra. It is pretty cool stuff- they’re all individual, modular pieces that you basically put together however you like. People have done some very creative designs with it! Click HERE to view. Brian used little eye hooks and fishing line to help shape it.

A job well done! If you have a woolly wall that you would like to share, please email photos to info (AT) woollypocket.com and we would love to feature it!

We’re thrilled to feature international garden designer Diana Harari as this month’s Woolly Design Star! Diana splits her time (and projects) between Mexico City and NYC. For this woolly project, she solves a very common urban (and suburban) landscape problem – what to plant outside a picture window that has no view? Her answer, a beautiful living tapestry of shade-loving plants endemic to Mexico, happily growing in a Woolly Wall.

Name: Diana Harari
Company Name: Dos Arquitectura Construccion
Website: http://dianaharari.carbonmade.com/
Blog: http://diangerous.blogspot.com
Location and Areas Served: Mexico City and New York City

1. What services do you offer?

Anything related to architecture, urban design and environmental design.

2. How did you get into landscape design?
I studied my masters in Urban Environmental Systems and realized how important the open space is in the big cities as New York and Mexico. We are surrounded by pavement and buildings so the vegetation is important and necessary.

3. What’s your design philosophy?
Anything that is natural will be nice and comfortable. I don’t know what exactly is my philosophy but I know that capricious architecture is not.

Before

After

4. What are some of your favorite plants for Woolly Pockets?
I know the names in Spanish… But basically the ones that hang like ivy.  I used endemic plants as well because they need less water and are more comfortable in their own land. Here are the names of the plants used in the installation:

1. Hiedra sueca – Lamiaceae plectranthus verticillatus
2. Hiedra azul – Hedera helix
3. Velo de novia – Gipsofila
4. Millonaria – Plectranthus australis
5. Telefono – Scindapsus aureus
6. Pasto liston – Chlorophytum comosum
7. Peluca
8. Cola de borrego – Sedum ‘Morganianum’
9. Acopa
10. Alamo
11. Coleus – Solenostemon scutellarioides

All the plants are for shadow and endemic to Mexico.

5. Is this your first installation using Woolly Pocket?
Yes

6. What was the client’s initial response to installing a living wall? And the end result?
My client was looking to do a living wall so I offered this system because is faster, cheaper and better for the plants than other living wall systems.

7. What was your experience working with Woolly Pocket?
It was an easy process. The people from Woolly Pocket answered all my questions. The website is very helpful too, like the videos.

8. What do you see as the greatest benefit of using Woolly Pockets?
Its nice, fast, easy and a great environment for the plants.

9. How are living walls & vertical gardening changing landscape design?
In big cities where there is not enough horizontal space we need to have vertical vegetation in order breath and keep our environment clean. I see the future full of vegetation growing vertically, even for agriculture.

10. How/where are you planning to use Woolly Pockets next?
I cant wait to have them everywhere, I think they automatically make a space look nicer. I would love to have them in buildings facades.

We can’t wait to see Diana’s next Woolly Project!

In this past weekend’s New York Times Magazine, a photograph was published that caught our eye. With Jamie Durie smiling in his backyard japanese soaking tub, you may not have noticed the tapestry of plants hanging behind him. I know, I know, it’s hard to focus on anything else, but indeed there is a Woolly Pocket Living Wall right there! We’ve added arrows to show what we’re talking about:

Stay Woolly!

The San Diego Botanic Garden recently held their annual Gala in the Garden to honor the person responsible for bringing authenticity and realism to the extra-terrestrial flora found on Pandora in James Cameron’s blockbuster film Avatar. Botanist Dr. Jodie Holt received the Paul Ecke Jr. Award of Excellence for her work as botanical consultant on the film and for her ongoing work promoting the beauty of nature and educating the public.

Our good friends at Olive Hill Greenhouses had the brilliant idea to use our Woolly Pocket frames on wheels to decorate the Open Air Pavilion at the garden. They used a plethora of their amazing indoor plants to create an otherworldly environment of greenery with splashes of colorful bromeliads! Artistic Director René van Rems added his gemlike table pieces to complete the effect!

Dr. Jodie Holt, Julian Duval, president and CEO of the San Diego Botanic Garden and Paul Ecke III

Congratulations Dr Holt and thank you for spreading your infectious love for and admiration of plants so far and wide!

LOGO TV airs their newest reality show “The Arrangement” tonight (Monday, October 4^th) at 11pm/10c!  If you’ve loved Top Chef, and always wished for the Floral Design version, your dreams have now come true.

All over the set you will find lush Woolly Pocket Living Walls!  Behind the judges’ table, filling empty windows in the workroom, and above the couch in the “kiss and cry” room – Wallys are everywhere!  Islands, too, hang out around the set, also filled with tropical indoor plants.

Set your Tivos and DVRs and see who will be “weeded out” weekly.  And of course, check out the amazing floral designs! LA Times’ David Keeps said “I’ve never seen anything quite like it, and I hope to see a lot more.”

Image ©suthi picotte

Our friends at Lushe from ‘down under’ recently blogged about a little project we had a woolly hand in:

On 21 May 2010 the Hanging Gardens of Detroit team joined the University Cultural Center Association and Greening of Detroit to create the city’s first vertical garden.

Read all about it and see more amazing photographs on their comprehensive blog dedicated to vertical gardens:

http://www.lushe.com.au/2010/08/17/hanging-gardens-of-detroit/

Last week, Wally put on his “tiki shirt” and went to San Diego for the CalScape Expo. Installed on several moving walls, Wally created instant, lush backdrops blooming with bromeliads, colorful crotons, and other healthy beauties from our friends at Olive Hill Greenhouses!

One Wally wall shared the Woollypockets booth with Lil’ Meadow triplets (in matching tropical regalia) and our new “Woolly Bar” – a place for Pockets to hang out at Garden Centers and Nurseries while they wait for you to take them home!

Wally dressed all in white (and green) to grace the stage and hang with the speakers and the beautiful competition arrangements.

A third tropical wall hung out in the show lobby, waiting for Honorees, Award Winners, and Special Guests to take pictures with him! Here’s a few of our faves…

Floral Design Superstar, René van Rems, and his inspiring new book René’s Bouquets

Wally was especially thrilled to stand behind his hero, Bill Wolverton, the scientist who’s pioneering work for NASA started the indoor plant revolution. Loved his speech, especially this part; “Modern high efficiency buildings need plants & soil microbes for indoor air quality!” A lifetime of achievements, indeed! And we are all anxiously awaiting his new book Plants: Why We Can’t Live Without Them, available in October.

Congrats also to Dick Ott, 2010 PIA Professional Hall of Fame Inductee! He won over the crowded room of professional plantscapers, when he said “We’re very fortunate to be in our industry, making others smile!” Couldn’t agree more!

Thanks to everyone who stopped by to say hi! And look for Wallys full of beautiful and well cared-for plants in lobbys, restaurants and stores near you!

We’re having a great time spreading Woolly Love in the Big Apple and Windy City! Here’s some pictures of our time spent on the road!

While preparing for the IGC show, we’ve had some time to explore Chicago a tiny bit, mostly from the El Train. So many patios!

So many planters tied to railings for the summer, and such incredibly lush tropical plants spilling out of every container and bed.

Clearly, Chicagoans loves to garden when (and where) you can.

Wally’s here to help!  Not only is he very reasonably priced, but he’s also easy to store away for the winter.  Just dump the potting soil and spent annuals into your compost bin, let him dry out, and then introduce him to your vacuum cleaner.  He’ll be happy tucked away in a closet while its cold outside, and he can switch places with your hat and mittens come springtime.

Just zip-tie him to your railing, alone or with friends.  Your plants will love him too, as his felt gently holds water for them to drink, making him more water-efficient between those summer rainstorms.

Wally, and the plants and soil to fill him, is even available locally at the outstanding Gethsemene Garden Center, which we know you were just looking for an excuse to visit again soon!  We stopped by to pick up some supplies, and were charmed by this weekend’s arts fair. Truly an inspiring place.  They even sell Wally already planted, in case you’re a bit busy right now.

And after Wally wins your heart (with easy, affordable gardening fun of course), maybe next spring think about giving him a friend, or making it a party.  Two stacked rows will give you some privacy on that balcony, and room for more plants!  Let’s see, mint in one for cocktails and tea; flowers for cutting in another; salad mix, of course:  then oregano, parsley and basil for the dressing… sounds like Wally’s got you, and your balcony, covered all summer!

Happy Gardening!

Woolly Pocket is currently on tour in Chicago at

Independent Garden Center Show Booth T66
Dates: August 17th – 19th
Hours: Tuesday, August 17 2pm – 6pm. Wednesday, August 18 10am-6pm. Thursday, August 19 10am-3pm
Navy Pier
600 East Grand Avenue

& New York at

New York International Gift Fair Accent on Design Booth 3947
Dates: August 15th – 19th
Hours: 9 AM – 6 PM daily; 12 noon close on Thursday, August 19
Jacob K. Javits Convention Center
655 West 34th Street

If you’re coming do let us know! We’re just a Tweet away and our Wall is always…Wally!

Photos by Stephanie Bartron (1-4) and Josh White (5-6)