New Wonder

When it comes to green living, you can't get much greener than EvoOrganic's new WonderWall.

Not only is the wall fully sustainable and constructed according to standards established by the U.S. Green Building Council and Leadership in Energy Environmental Designs, it really is green. That's because a main component of the WonderWall is plants.

The WonderWall is a vertical garden.

Suitable for interior or exterior applications, the garden is completely self-contained and can be adapted to most any location through proper plant selection and the use of customized watering schedules or heating systems. The gardens utilize EvoOrganic's unique fabrics that have built-in irrigation systems, pumps to recirculate water and sensors to maintain temperature and moisture levels.

"Our whole company stands for sustainability," said Rick Baker, president of EvoOrganic. "It's exciting to be on the edge of this movement and to make a green statement."

With its debut at the winter Las Vegas Market, Baker said he hopes to marry his company's plant knowledge with the expertise of interior designs to create living and awe-inspiring walls.

Designers visiting the company's booth during the home-furnishings trade show at the World Market Center were excited about its many applications. Some said they could easily see it in a courtyard while others thought it would make an ideal addition for a foyer.

"We're more wowed than anybody," said Baker of the response he has received so far.

Because each vertical garden is built to order, it can be small enough to hang on a wall like a piece of art or large enough to cover the exterior of a building.

The materials can be applied to virtually any surface or built into a self-contained unit, which can be used by themselves or as modular sections to build a wall to desired specifications. And, the company is creating fabric pockets for the basic frame work that allow plants to be interchanged or replaced as needed or desired.

Baker estimates that it costs between $50 and $60 a square foot to install a garden. Then, his company requires a 12-month service contract to ensure a successful start. This includes plant care and regular checks of the water pump, valves and filer system. Additionally, EvoOrganic offers remote monitoring through specialized high-definition cameras. Through the Vital Signs program, 24-hour Web-based monitoring ensures the plants' health.

"It's like monitoring a baby. We make sure they're always in good shape -- happy, alive and thriving," he said.

Laura Rehberger, the company's Nevada sales representative, said she has received interest from a local chef who would like to create a vertical herb garden and has discussed the possibility of installing a WonderWall at an area museum.

Currently, there is one at Plant World Nursery on Charleston Boulevard.

"It's gotten a lot of interest from people," said Ken Busse, general manager. "It's pretty unusual to have plants growing on the wall."

Installed about six months ago, Busse said the wall has required virtually no care.

"There's literally no work. There's an automatic waterer set up on a timer and a grow light. Maybe we'll have to do some trimming down the road, but we haven't got to that point yet."

Always on the lookout for something new and unusual for the nursery, Busse said he was intrigued by the idea after meeting with Rehberger. He said she is an avid gardener and that Plant World is her favorite gardening place.

Although vertical gardening is not a completely new concept, it is more commonly seen in Europe. In fact, Baker began developing the WonderWall after seeing a vertical garden on the exterior of a building in Barcelona, Spain.

As a certified organic gardener and member of Kentucky's organic gardening advisory board, Baker travels the world to learn more about gardening practices. His company's varied products are all geared toward sustainable gardening aimed to conserve water and increase yield and time savings.

He said the garden on the wall caught his attention and he wanted to replicate it.

"I have an inventor's brain. I can't turn it off," he said.

So, he returned to the 31-acre research farm he operates in Versailles, Ky., not far from the company's headquarters in Lexington, and figured out a way to take the company's water-saving landscape fabrics and create a vertical application.

Baker said it's a big leap from working with farmers growing blueberries to interior designers creating living works of art.

Las Vegas is the only city other than the company's headquarters where EvoOrganic has established a presence. As one of the world's most visited cities with an abundance of tourists and attraction innovators, Las Vegas is an ideal spot for people to see the living walls, Baker said.

"It's a wow city. Everything has a visual impact and makes a splash, and people appreciate it," he said.

The city's harsh environment also helps them hone their plant knowledge.

Aside from looking beautiful and creating interest, Baker said there are numerous environmental benefits to the WonderWall.

Each 100 square feet of WonderWall offers the same air-filtering benefits of a 13-to-15-foot tree, Baker said. The plants also reduce the heat island effect created by large areas of concrete, allowing for reduced heating and cooling costs, and dramatically reduce sound levels.

For more information about EvoOrganic and the WonderWall, contact Rehberger at 800-731-6461 or visit the company's Web site at evoorganic.com.