The Origins of Phoenix Green Walls

From its founding, Phoenix Green Walls has been driven by my love of plants and my mission to make plants more a part of our everyday lives. The name was an homage to my hometown where I got my start at 17, working in nurseries across the Valley. Today marks the start of the next phase of Phoenix Green Walls, with a new look and a new name: Vert Plantworks.

When I started Phoenix Green Walls I could not have anticipated the tremendous growth we would encounter in our first two years. Nor did I anticipate the amazing welcome we would receive from the incredible business community in Phoenix. I came back to Phoenix after a decade spent honing my craft in New York City, knowing that Phoenix presented opportunities I wouldn’t find anywhere else. Phoenix has given this company room to grow beyond its city limits, and beyond green walls. Vert Plantworks represents our broadened focus, both geographically and in our service offering.

Beyond Green Walls

Green walls will always be at the core of this company’s service, but now we are extremely proud to offer a host of additional ways that people and businesses can connect with nature in their environments. Working closely with our clients, we understood their need for a trusted partner to bring life to their spaces. We’ve added moss walls, moss panels and moss wall art - a popular alternative to green walls that don’t rely on access to sun, water or maintenance. We offer faux green walls made with Vistafolia panels, and you can read more about their path towards sustainability here. And we bring everything together through  broader plantscaping services, combining interior landscape design with sourcing, installation, maintenance, rental and event services.

Committing to Values

Along with this new chapter for our business, Vert Plantworks is making a commitment to sustainability. We are launching our new Environmental Policy Statement expressing our values toward sustainability, diversity and community. Vert Plantworks is committed not only to our current practices but also to prioritize developing new ones, particularly in water conservation, zero waste and community education. Through our partners, vendors and colleagues, we are prioritizing furthering conversations around sustainability in the horticultural and interior landscaping industries.

The Meaning of Vert Plantworks

What’s in our name? The word “vert” has multiple relevancies for me, starting with my teenage years spent at the skate parks of Mesa and Scottsdale, where vert meant vertical (vs. street) skating. And of course, “vert” references our core roots in vertical gardening. Vert is also an old word for green, used in heraldry. So it encompasses much of what is meaningful for me - my past, my present, and our green future. And although we’ll always build plants on walls, “plantworks” more broadly expresses our skillset across all elements of plantscaping, from design to installation and expert care.

The Future of Vert Plantworks

What comes next? As Vert Plantworks, our greatest commitment continues to be to our amazing clients, who join us in dreaming up ever newer and cooler ways to live with plants. We continue to be a family-owned and operated company, based in downtown Phoenix. But now we are able to extend our services to clients beyond Phoenix. Expect to hear more from us about our own journey of sustainability, as well as our industry’s advancements. We will continue to offer our clients new ways to embrace biophilic design. Along with this, we are introducing Vert Studio, a design collective for biophilic design and products.

I am excited to share with our coworkers, clients and community this new chapter, and to welcome Vert Plantworks. I’m beyond grateful to the Phoenix community, which has supported us as a great home for a small business startup, as well as for the city’s vibrant and rapidly growing urban environment.