Rooted in Landscape, LLC Wins People’s Choice Award for Best City living garden at Northwest Flower & Garden Festival!

They came, they saw, they fell in love! Rooted in Landscape’s #TheLivingWorkspace City Living Garden won the People’s Choice Award at the Northwest Flower & Garden Festival (NWFGF) this month! 

The design, a brainchild of Rooted in Landscape founder and CEO, Smitha Navda, incorporated nature into the modern workspace and was tremendously popular with visitors of all ages who attended the festival. Blending her expertise in design and landscaping, as well as her personal touches, Smitha created a space where everyone could imagine living and working, and being one with nature. 

Immersed in Nature: The Biophilic Workspace

With many people working from home during the pandemic, creating harmony between a person and nature has come to the fore. As Smitha and her husband began working from home too, they received compliments from his colleagues for the unique plants that adorned his background. He suggested creating a unique, restorative space where he could work surrounded by plants and a calming atmosphere. This became the starting point for Smitha’s biophilic design.  

Literally meaning “the love of life,” biophilic design is meant to create a living, interactive space where one can feel instantly refreshed the moment they look up from their computer screen or get up from their desk for a coffee break. Biophilic design creates a place to not only work more productively, but reduce stress, enhance creativity, and improve mental well-being. It speaks to our innate desire to commune with nature and can be designed into any space. 

Inspired To Create The Living Workspace

When Smitha heard that NWFGF was slated to return this year, she was excited to participate in the City Living design showcase. The base plan of this layout was an approximately 8’ x 12’ space with a door that could lead indoors or out, as if onto a balcony, patio or porch, and two walls on either side.

In the vibrant outdoor balcony space she designed, Smitha used indoor house plants like ficus elastica ruby, philodendrons and bird of paradise in modern containers (Smitha’s specialty). She chose the colors she loves the most to weave together her mini-landscape – pink, black & white (and green, of course!). Tall metal art on either side of the door, along with bird-of-paradise and ferns framed the entry. Other plants like catpalm, kalanchoe, tulips, snowdrops and paperwhites in carefully chosen and designed containers anchored the doorway and completed the oasis. 

But first, coffee! Across from the living wall and workspace was a place to grab a cup of Joe and some yummy, colorful macaroons, so one could stretch, take a break and get that much-needed fuel.

Showstoppers: The Living Wall And Chandelier

The highlights of the City Living garden were the beautiful Living Wall that had plants growing in a self-contained flat-panel planter hanging right behind a workbench, and the incredible Living Chandelier (not to forget, the bold pink neon #TheLivingWorkspace sign and the modern aquarium, with live fish!) This cozy nook was created as the perfect spot to sit back, relax and work in peace. The lush green Living Wall contained ferns, Philodendron pink princess, Ray fern Cordatum green, and Peperomia Schumi red, a soothing green space meant to forge a connection with nature, all within a large city environment. What’s more, the wall had propagation tubes, a clever, economical way to make sure you can always replenish any plants that you might need or are growing well.

The ingenious Living Chandelier was designed by Smitha using a planter and low-voltage pendant lights. The planter contained pitcher plants, tradescantia pink princess, and the pendant lights attached to the base, a perfect way to get some extra light on cloudy days in this city. The seamless flow between the Living Wall and the Living Chandelier made for a truly tranquil space to focus without the stress.

Personal Touches

As people took their work home with them, Smitha brought touches of home with her to this unique space. A desk plaque that said “Girl Boss” – a gift from her children for Mother’s Day. A laptop from her husband, a greeting card from a friend. A stuffed toy black cat, for Bagheera, her pet. In other words, it was a space as personal as anything you would want for yourself. Because to Smitha, this was personal, filled with heart, creativity, work and family. 

The response from visitors and judges alike was overwhelming. From kids as young as five to veteran visitors of 65, there was something for everyone to love. While the children were delighted with the aquarium and snack bar, seasoned plant lovers appreciated the careful choice of plants. Millennials, for whom the pandemic was front-and-center, discovered a new way to feel less overwhelmed by screens. Whatever spring meant to anyone, whether wilderness, the fragrance of a particular flower or simply being surrounded by plants, there was something here that everyone could connect with. 

Here are some kind words from the patrons who fell in love with The Living Workspace:

“When can I move in?”
“Love this space you created! We would totally work from there!”
“My favorite! Can’t wait to see what you do next!”